Fillmore County | |
---|---|
County of Fillmore | |
![]() Fillmore County Courthouse in Geneva | |
![]() Interactive map of Fillmore County | |
![]() Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
Established | January 26, 1856 |
Organized | May 27, 1871 |
Named for | Millard Fillmore |
County seat | Geneva |
Largest city | Geneva |
Area | |
• Total | 577 sq mi (1,490 km2) |
• Land | 575 sq mi (1,490 km2) |
• Water | 1.2 sq mi (3 km2) 0.2% |
Highest elevation | 1,555 ft (474 m) |
Lowest elevation | 1,171 ft (357 m) |
Population (2020) | 5,551 |
• Density | 9.7/sq mi (3.7/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Area code | 402/531 |
FIPS code | 31059 |
GNIS feature ID | 835851 |
Website | www.fillmorecounty.org |
Fillmore County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 5,551. [1] Its county seat is Geneva. [2] The county was named for President Millard Fillmore.
In the Nebraska license plate system, Fillmore County is represented by the prefix 34 (it had the thirty-fourth largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).
Fillmore County was established, and its boundaries defined, by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature in 1856. It was named for Millard Fillmore, the thirteenth president of the United States, who had left office in 1853. [3] [4]
The first homesteaders arrived in the county in 1866. Ohio natives William O. Bussard and William C. Whitaker filed claims on the West Fork of the Big Blue River in the county's northeastern portion. [5] [6] Settlement of the area was slow until 1870; [7] it was concentrated in the county's northern part, in part because the surveyed route of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad ran through York County just north of the present-day York-Fillmore county line. [8] In 1870, Fillmore City, the county's first town, was established on the Big Blue about four miles (6 km) north of present-day Grafton; [8] [9] in 1871, the county's first post office opened in Fillmore City. [10]
In 1871, the Burlington and Missouri laid its tracks through the area. A recent change in federal law allowed them to alter their route, shifting it about five miles (8 km) south of their original surveyed path. This placed the route on more level country, reducing the cost of cutting and bridging; it also shifted the line from York County to northern Fillmore County. [8]
The county was formally organized in 1871; [11] up to this time, it had been administered from, and taxed by, Saline County, its neighbor to the east. In April, an election was held to choose officers to organize the county; at this time, it was decided to place the county seat in the county's center. The town site was surveyed and platted, and given the name "Henry". It could not be occupied, since it was on school land owned by the state; an act of the legislature was necessary before the land could be sold. [10] [12] [13]
The legislature passed a bill in the summer of 1872 to allow sale of the school lands. At about that time, the new county seat's name was changed from "Henry" to "Geneva", at the suggestion of the daughter of a local settler, who wanted it named after her family's old home of Geneva, Illinois. [10] [14] [15]
The county grew rapidly through the first years of the 1870s. Three towns were established along the Burlington line; in keeping with the railroad's practice of naming their towns alphabetically, they were dubbed Exeter, Fairmont, and Grafton. [16] By 1873, the entire county had been "thickly settled". [10] Its growth suffered a check in the mid-1870s, due to the worldwide depression following the Panic of 1873 and an infestation of grasshoppers in the late summer of 1874. [10] [17]
As additional railroad lines were constructed through the county, new towns were established. In about 1886, the Burlington built a branch line from Beatrice to Holdrege, running east–west through southern Fillmore County; Shickley, Strang, and Ohiowa were founded on or near the route. A north–south line connected this branch to the Burlington's main line, running from Strang to Fairmont. [18] [19] [20] [21] Milligan was established in 1887, on the Kansas City and Omaha line. [22] [23]
Several ethnic European enclaves developed during the time of the county's homesteading. An extensive Czech settlement covered much of Saline County and extended into eastern Fillmore County, including Milligan. [24] A concentration of Swedish immigrants developed in eastern Clay County, extending into southwestern Fillmore County in the area between Shickley and Ong. [25] German settlements formed in both the county's southeastern and southwestern corners. [10]
According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of 577 square miles (1,490 km2), of which 575 square miles (1,490 km2) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2) (0.2%) is water. [26]
The county lies within the watershed of the Big Blue River. Water in the county drains via the West Fork of the Big Blue; via Turkey Creek, which runs into the Big Blue near De Witt, Nebraska; and via the Little Blue, which joins the Big Blue in Kansas. [27]
Fillmore County lies within the eastern portion of Nebraska's loess plain, a region of soil deposited by the wind between 25,000 and 13,000 years ago, forming a plain that slopes to the southeast. The Big Blue and its tributaries have incised channels into the loess surface in places, but in much of the county the original plain remains. These loess-plain regions are characterized by extensive upland flats with shallow depressions, lined with fine-grained and relatively impermeable silt, and tend to form shallow ephemeral wetlands when filled with rain or snowmelt; such wetlands range in area from less than 40 acres (16 ha) to more than 500 acres (200 ha). [28]
The county's surface is underlain by Cretaceous sedimentary bedrock, topped with unconsolidated Quaternary sediments. The bedrock was eroded into hills and valleys before the deposition of the overlying sediments, so the thickness of the latter varies. The unconsolidated sediments range in thickness from 60 to 450 feet (18 to 137 m); they form an aquifer whose saturated zone ranges in thickness from 20 to 350 feet (6.1 to 106.7 m). [29]
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1870 | 238 | — | |
1880 | 10,204 | 4,187.4% | |
1890 | 16,022 | 57.0% | |
1900 | 15,087 | −5.8% | |
1910 | 14,674 | −2.7% | |
1920 | 13,671 | −6.8% | |
1930 | 12,971 | −5.1% | |
1940 | 11,417 | −12.0% | |
1950 | 9,610 | −15.8% | |
1960 | 9,425 | −1.9% | |
1970 | 8,137 | −13.7% | |
1980 | 7,920 | −2.7% | |
1990 | 7,103 | −10.3% | |
2000 | 6,634 | −6.6% | |
2010 | 5,890 | −11.2% | |
2020 | 5,551 | −5.8% | |
US Decennial Census [38] 1790-1960 [39] 1900-1990 [40] 1990-2000 [41] 2010 [42] |
As of the 2000 United States Census, [43] there were 6,634 people, 2,689 households, and 1,801 families in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile (4.6 people/km2). There were 2,990 housing units at an average density of 5 units per square mile (1.9/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.75% White, 0.21% Black or African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 1.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 48.6% were of German, 10.4% Czech, 7.1% Irish and 7.0% English ancestry.
There were 2,689 households, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.10% were married couples living together, 5.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.95.
The county population contained 26.30% under the age of 18, 5.10% from 18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 21.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,162, and the median income for a family was $41,725. Males had a median income of $29,813 versus $18,507 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,465. About 4.80% of families and 7.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.20% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those age 65 or over.
In the Nebraska license plate system, Fillmore County is represented by the prefix 34: when the state began using county numbers on its license plates in 1922, it had the 34th-largest number of registered vehicles. [47] [48]
Fillmore County voters have been reliably Republican since the beginning, selecting the Republican Party candidate in 80% of national elections (as of 2020).
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 2,359 | 74.94% | 693 | 22.01% | 96 | 3.05% |
2016 | 2,130 | 72.42% | 613 | 20.84% | 198 | 6.73% |
2012 | 2,007 | 69.71% | 807 | 28.03% | 65 | 2.26% |
2008 | 1,913 | 64.91% | 962 | 32.64% | 72 | 2.44% |
2004 | 2,314 | 72.47% | 828 | 25.93% | 51 | 1.60% |
2000 | 2,024 | 67.51% | 848 | 28.29% | 126 | 4.20% |
1996 | 1,696 | 54.80% | 1,058 | 34.18% | 341 | 11.02% |
1992 | 1,501 | 42.93% | 990 | 28.32% | 1,005 | 28.75% |
1988 | 1,955 | 57.20% | 1,435 | 41.98% | 28 | 0.82% |
1984 | 2,474 | 70.46% | 1,009 | 28.74% | 28 | 0.80% |
1980 | 2,435 | 65.00% | 1,025 | 27.36% | 286 | 7.63% |
1976 | 2,098 | 57.15% | 1,489 | 40.56% | 84 | 2.29% |
1972 | 2,511 | 66.41% | 1,270 | 33.59% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 2,213 | 59.60% | 1,297 | 34.93% | 203 | 5.47% |
1964 | 1,936 | 43.67% | 2,497 | 56.33% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 2,842 | 61.09% | 1,810 | 38.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 3,137 | 66.94% | 1,549 | 33.06% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 3,603 | 74.77% | 1,216 | 25.23% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 2,677 | 58.54% | 1,896 | 41.46% | 0 | 0.00% |
1944 | 3,362 | 65.28% | 1,788 | 34.72% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 3,677 | 65.13% | 1,969 | 34.87% | 0 | 0.00% |
1936 | 2,858 | 47.15% | 3,154 | 52.03% | 50 | 0.82% |
1932 | 2,178 | 37.03% | 3,655 | 62.15% | 48 | 0.82% |
1928 | 3,479 | 60.55% | 2,235 | 38.90% | 32 | 0.56% |
1924 | 2,758 | 51.54% | 2,156 | 40.29% | 437 | 8.17% |
1920 | 2,803 | 63.43% | 1,549 | 35.05% | 67 | 1.52% |
1916 | 1,561 | 43.95% | 1,911 | 53.80% | 80 | 2.25% |
1912 | 972 | 26.89% | 1,736 | 48.02% | 907 | 25.09% |
1908 | 1,756 | 46.10% | 1,989 | 52.22% | 64 | 1.68% |
1904 | 1,980 | 56.70% | 837 | 23.97% | 675 | 19.33% |
1900 | 1,883 | 49.60% | 1,860 | 49.00% | 53 | 1.40% |
Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 6,104. Its county seat is Clay Center. The county was formed in 1855, and was organized in 1871. It was named for Henry Clay, a member of the United States Senate from Kentucky, who went on to become United States Secretary of State.
Lancaster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 322,608, making it the second-most populous county in Nebraska. Its county seat is Lincoln, the state capital. The county was created in 1859.
York County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 14,125. Its county seat is York.
Thayer County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 5,034. Its county seat is Hebron. The county was created in 1856 and originally named Jefferson County. It was organized in 1870-1871 and renamed for General and Governor John Milton Thayer.
Seward County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 17,609. Its county seat is Seward. The county was formed in 1855, and was organized in 1867. It was originally called Greene County, and in 1862 it was renamed for William H. Seward, Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. Seward County is part of the Lincoln, NE Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Saunders County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 22,278. Its county seat is Wahoo.
Nuckolls County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 4,095. Its county seat is Nelson.
Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,676. Its county seat is North Platte. Despite the county's name, the state capital city of Lincoln is not in or near Lincoln County.
Keith County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 8,335. Its county seat is Ogallala.
Kearney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 6,688. Its county seat is Minden. The county was formed in 1860. It was named for Fort Kearny, which in turn was named for Brigade General Stephen W. Kearny.
Jefferson County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,240. Its county seat is Fairbury. The county was named for Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America.
Harlan County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3,073. Its county seat is Alma. The county is home to the Harlan County Reservoir.
Hamilton County is a county in the U.S. state Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 9,429. Its county seat is Aurora. The county was named for Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury in the new United States government.
Hall County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 62,895, making it Nebraska's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Grand Island. The county was formed in 1858; it was named for Augustus Hall, an early judge of this territory.
Dawson County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 24,111. Its county seat is Lexington.
Exeter is a village in Fillmore County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 516 at the 2020 census.
Fairmont is a village in Fillmore County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 602 at the 2020 census.
Shickley is a village in Fillmore County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 343 at the 2020 census.
The Rainwater Basin wetland region is a 4,200 sq mi (11,000 km2) loess plain located south of the Platte River in south-central Nebraska. It lies principally in Adams, Butler, Clay, Fillmore, Hamilton, Kearney, Phelps, Polk, Saline, Seward, and York counties and extends into adjacent areas of southeastern Hall, northern Franklin, northern Nuckolls, western Saline, northern Thayer and northwestern Webster counties. Before European settlement, this plain was covered by prairie grasslands interspersed with thousands of ephemeral playa wetlands, called Rainwater Basins. Informally and locally, individual Nebraska Rainwater Basins are referred to as rainbasins, basins, lagoons, lakes, ponds, marshes, hay marshes, and lakes marshes. To the west, a tallgrass prairie in the east once gradually transitioned into mixed grass prairie. Currently, the Rainwater Basin wetland region is covered by farms, mainly growing corn and soybeans. Several, interspersed, stream courses, of which largest is the Big Blue River and its tributaries, drain this region. Riparian woodlands and upland slopes possessing oak woodlands are associated with these streams. In the spring and fall months, millions of migratory birds pass through the region to feed and rest. Along with riparian habitats associated Platte River, Big Blue River, its tributaries, and smaller streams, Rainwater Basins are a major component of the Central Flyway of North America.
The Big Blue River Bridge is a National Register of Historic Places-listed bridge located in Fillmore County, Nebraska, near the village of Grafton. The bridge is one of two listed on the Register within Fillmore County, the other being the Deering Bridge. The bridge is a single-span, concrete, spandrel arch facility. The site was first designed by state engineers in 1917, and was constructed in 1918. At the time of the construction, the facility's architectural style was the main bridge design in the state. The bridge still retains all original building materials, and has only undergone slight maintenance since construction. The bridge carries Fillmore County Road 6 over the West Fork of the Big Blue River.