Broken Bow was platted in 1882 by Jesse Gandy, who donated lots to people willing to build a house or establish a business in order to influence voters to make the new town the Custer County seat, which they did in an election that fall. The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad reached Broken Bow in 1886, and anticipating new commerce, the Lincoln Land Company purchased large tracts of land. With the railroad's arrival, the town flourished as the region's rich agricultural territory opened to distant markets and Broken Bow became a regional trade center. Gandy's plat reserved one block as a public square surrounded by business lots, and the square has served as the commercial district's focal point, landscaped with trees, walkways, and a bandstand. The town square is centered on buildings dating from the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century that represent the town's periods of development. The Broken Bow commercial historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.