Brule, Nebraska, was established in 1886, when Major Isaac Barton and his wife, Elizabeth, purchased a quarter section of land they considered the “garden spot of the county” in the “Great American Desert.” Soon a lumberyard and store were built, and the community began to thrive. Rather than naming this community for themselves, the Barton’s chose to name the town after 5,000 Brule Sioux Indians who camped there in 1872.

The presence of the Union Pacific Railroad was an inducement for farm families to settle near Brule. Merchants then came to support the area.

Brule, Nebraska, is a small rural village, located nine miles west of Ogallala on Highway 30 and Interstate 80.