The Mostly Abandoned Town In Nebraska That Most People Stay Far, Far Away From

On the border of Nebraska and South Dakota sits a place most people (in Nebraska anyway) stay far, far away from. That’s because of the town’s history with the neighboring Pine Ridge Indian Reservation just over the South Dakota border. Whiteclay, Nebraska, while not exactly an “abandoned town,” is close enough with all of 14 residents and fewer than 10 homes.

Wikimedia Commons/public domain

Once officially a part of the Indian reservation, Whiteclay reached its highest population count in 1940 when approximately 105 people lived here. But that number steadily declined over the ensuing decades.

Photogrammer/LOC/LC-USF34-061934

Whiteclay's main thoroughfare in 1940 looks tidy, clean, hopeful and full of promise.

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Wikimedia Commons/public domain

Today, the few people who remain in Whiteclay are mostly affiliated with establishments that sell alcohol.

And therein lies the issue many people have with Whiteclay.

In 2010, the four stores in Whiteclay where you could legally purchase beer sold 4.9 million cans of beer that year. In a town of less than 15 people, that raised some eyebrows.

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Flickr/Confrontational Media

Soon, a movement was afoot as it seemed nearly everyone felt it was obvious all the beer was being sold to residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where it was illegal to possess or drink alcohol. This photo is from a march activists staged in Whiteclay in 2013 to protest all the beer being sold to the Lakota people. The protest claimed the establishments were effectively killing the members of the Lakota tribe by selling them such huge quantities and allowing them to purchase the beer to bring illegally back to the reservation.

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Google Maps [streetview August 2013 - Jacobs St]

A large-scale effort began by parties of both sides. Some of the Lakota people wanted alcohol to be legalized on the reservation, while another faction hired an attorney to sue the merchants in Whiteclay for murder.

YouTube/Galeson EagleStar

In the end, the lawsuit was thrown out of court by a federal judge who claimed he had no jurisdiction over the matter.

Google Maps [streetview August 2013]

Today, Whiteclay still marches to the beat of their own drum. And most Nebraskans who remember - or are aware of - the big protests and issues surrounding the sale of so much beer in such a small town are likely to steer clear of this hotbed of controversy.

Google Maps [streetview August 2013]

And, except for a quick news flare after the the Arrowhead Food's store burned last summer, all has been quiet as life goes on in this small town everyone pretty much avoids...except the neighbors to the North.

Have you heard of Whiteclay? Or the overwhelming amount of beer sales on record for the year 2010? Some 4.9 million cans were sold in this tiny nearly abandoned town in Nebraska, and many people stay away in protest of what they see as irresponsible alcohol sales.