Posted in Nebraska May 12, 2019 by

The Smallest City Hall In America Is In Nebraska, And You’ll Want To See It

You may think you already know about all of the fun and unusual things all across Nebraska, but have you ever seen this tiny building? It’s the smallest city hall in the entire country, and it’s a delightfully unique place to visit.

The tiny village of Maskell, Nebraska boasts a population of just 76. It's located in far northeastern Nebraska, just a stone's throw from the Missouri River.
Google Maps
There isn't a whole heck of a lot to see in Maskell. The town is only a few blocks long and covers about .16 miles. It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that the village uses its unusual municipal building as a draw for visitors.
Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM
The little city hall building is just 10 feet by 12 feet and provides just enough room for the village's four board members, chairperson, and city clerk to hold meetings. If more than one or two observers wish to attend a meeting, the group moves across the street to the shelter house in Maskell Park or to one of the board members' homes.
Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM

The tiny city hall was built during the Great Depression. It was also a pump house back then, and although the pump hasn't been used since the 1950s, it's still located in the basement. On the front of the building, red marbles set into the building's facade spell out "City-Hall," giving the building a real sense of retro charm.
It turns out that there's no organization that keeps track of the size of city halls across the country. The little city hall in Maskell could very well be the smallest in the nation, but there's no real proof of that. Then again, there's no proof that it's not. And until there is, this sweet little town will hang onto its claim to fame.
Jared Winkler [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Address: Maskell, NE, 68751. Drive through Maskell to find this little hidden gem – you can’t miss it.

There’s another town in Nebraska with some impressively small buildings (not to mention a seriously amazing restaurant) – read all about it in this article from the archives.