John W. Felch homesteaded in 1871 on the present site of Nekoma. The Santa Fe Railroad Town Site Company platted Nekoma as a Post Office and Stockyard in 1884.
In the early 1900s, the town had a blacksmith shop, three grain elevators, garages and gas stations, a cafe, barber shops, grocery stores, creamery, feed mill, rest home, and a bank. The community also had a school, opera house, two churches, and a local chapter of the Independent Order of Oddfellows. A two room school house continued to be used until the mid 1950's.
On June 21, 1916, the State of Kansas chartered the Nekoma State Bank. The bank remained in its original location until a group of investors purchased the banking operations and moved to La Crosse. At the time of the sale, it was one of the last operating banks in a wood-frame building in Kansas.
Miss Vinnie Ream was a sister to Reuben Ream of Nekoma. Vinnie Ream was the artist who sculpted a bust of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. His last sitting was April 14, 1865 when he excused himself early to get ready for a performance at Ford's Theater. Following Lincoln's assassination, Congress awarded 17-year-old Vinnie a $10,000 contract to create a life-sized marble statue of Lincoln to be placed in the Capitol.
In 1910, the population was 75, and peaked at just over 100 people. The Post Office closed in 2008.