Communities
Axtell
From 1870 to 1900, the prairies upon which Axtell residents now have their homes, changed from open rolling hills to residences and roads. When the Saint Joe-Grand Island Railroad Company received a wide swath of land on which to build their railroad a group of gentlemen acquired 160 acres, had it platted then named the to-be town Axtell, after an officer of the railroad company, Dr. Jesse Axtell.
Axtell now has many fourth and fifth generation families in town and on the farms surrounding the community. The early-day businesses of livery stables, dray, blacksmiths and creamery have been replaced with three auto repair garages, several independent truckers, carpentry and construction crews, a lumber yard, a truss manufacturer and the headquarters for the Marshall-Nemaha Rural Electric Coop. Other businesses include Axtell State Bank, Peschel’s Food Mart, Axtell ACE’s Café, Dave’s Hardware and Axtell Grain Elevator. The community enjoys a public school, a parochial elementary school, a post office and a public library. There are the United Methodist Church and St. Michael Catholic Church in Axtell.
Each year they have an annual community celebration, Axtell Harvest Festival, the second Saturday in August.