Nature's Gift: The Highway 34 Springs

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Since times unrecorded, springs from the Ogallala Formation relieved travelers through the Republican Valley. In 1930 Benkelman citizens improved a nearby spring to benefit motorists on NE 3 (later US 34). The 1935 Republican River flood destroyed the original spring and highway. When the highway was relocated, this rest area was established in 1941 at the site of another spring. The highway was relocated again in 1970 and the state deeded the rest area to Dundy County. Local residents restored it in 2008.