Potter began as a small Union Pacific Railroad settlement and depot midway between Kimball and Sidney. Union Pacific built the station house in 1870, and as the settlement’s only building it also served as the post office and school. Its proximity to Fort Sidney allowed a company of soldiers to billet their animals one-half mile south of Potter. Potter was platted in 1885 with a population of 75. The railroad brought many farmers and ranchers to Potter during the 1880s, but drought in the early 1890s caused many of them to leave. A second wave of settlement followed the passage of the Kinkaid Act of 1907, and the Village of Potter was incorporated in 1912. The depot was constructed in 1885 and remained in use until 1971, then was moved to Buffalo Bend before being donated and returned to the Village of Potter in 1989. Citizens of Potter made preservation of the depot possible, and it now serves as the Potter Depot Museum.