Adams County, Nebraska

Adams County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Hastings
Year Organized: 1867
Square Miles: 563

Court House:

500 West Fourth, Room 108
County Courthouse
Hastings, NE 68901-7509

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named in honor of John Adams, the second president of the United States

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Among the most significant points in the early development of Adams County was the battle that was waged to locate the site of its government.

Named in honor of John Adams, the second president of the United States, Adams County's boundaries were officially established on Feb. 16, 1867. After the county was organized, Juniata served the county seat. But the area that would become Hastings was growing rapidly due to superior railroad facilities. What would follow was a 10-year struggle between the two to become the county seat.

In the first county election in December 1871, the initial skirmish ended with Juniata prevailing. At a mass meeting held in Hastings in 1873, plans were outlined by local leaders to locate the county seat in the rapidly-growing community. The activities by a special committee appointed at that meeting alarmed the citizens of Juniata, who in early 1874 adopted a resolution favoring the erection of a courthouse in their community. The County Board, in June of that year, instructed the sheriff to secure bids for the construction of a courthouse building not exceeding $20,000.

Hastings citizens were unaware of this action until county Clerk A.H. Cramer, who was sympathetic to the Hastings cause, informed another Hastings citizen of what was taking place. When the time arrived to open bids for the Juniata courthouse, Cramer refused to issue the warrants that were necessary. The County Board immediately declared his office vacant; however, Cramer refused to give up his office keys. Within days a restraining order was issued to stop the construction of a courthouse in Juniata and the residents of Hastings became more determined than ever. In 1877, by a vote of 844 to 535, Hastings became the county seat. The citizens of Hastings, in an effort to avoid any unnecessary trouble, drove wagons to Juniata after sundown to retrieve county records.

The original courthouse was built in 1889 for $77,815 and became known as the showplace of Adams County. It served residents until the present courthouse was dedicated in 1964.

Neighboring Counties:

Insert Counties Here

Cities and Towns:

- Ayr	village	Incorporated Area
- Blaine	township
- Cottonwood	township
- Denver	township
- Hastings (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Holstein	village	Incorporated Area
- Juniata	village	Incorporated Area
- Kenesaw	village	Incorporated Area
- Logan	township
- Platte	township
- Roseland	village	Incorporated Area
- Silver Lake	township
- Verona	township
- Wanda	township
- West Blue	township
- Zero	township

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."