Hemingford Abbot (England) and HemmingFord (Quebec, Canada) are ancestors of the town by that name in western Nebraska. The first settlers that came in 1885 included a group from Canada who wanted the new town named for their former home. Today the town is truly a melting pot of America, with people of all nationalities among its residents. The town is in the northern third of Box Butte County, almost exactly halfway between its western and eastern borders. Hemingford is, and has always been, known for being a community of friendly and caring people. There are five churches in Hemingford. The Christmas diorama is a story of pictorial and wooden figures of people, angels, and animals in sixteen scenes covering a distance of two and a half football fields. The display is at the west side of town and in place from the last part of November until after New Years each year. Box Butte Reservoir nine miles north of town provides an area for camping, fishing, and recreation. The County Fair, third largest in the state, is held here. Highway 2 passes through town from the south and becomes highway 2 and 71 twelve miles west of town. Highway 87 leaves No. 385 east of town and becomes No. 2 at Hemingford.