Antelope County, Nebraska: History and Information

Antelope County, Nebraska

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

County Seat: Neligh
Year Organized: 1871
Square Miles: 857

Court House:

501 Main Street
County Courthouse
Neligh, NE 68756-1466

Etymology - Origin of County Name

State Sen. Leander Gerrard recalled an incident that had occurred to him in this area the preceding year. Tired and low on provisions, Gerrard's party was able to kill a young antelope for food. So in March 1871 when the Legislature defined the boundaries of this new county, Gerrard suggested it be known as Antelope.

Demographics:

History

When it came time to select a name for a newly-created county in Northeast Nebraska, State Sen. Leander Gerrard recalled an incident that had occurred to him in this area the preceding year. In 1870 Gerrard was a member of a party that was in pursuit of thieves who had stolen livestock in the Columbus area. The trail led to the northwest and Cedar Creek. Tired and low on provisions, Gerrard's party was able to kill a young antelope for food. So in March 1871 when the Legislature defined the boundaries of this new county, Gerrard suggested it be known as Antelope.

In June 1871 the county was officially organized and 202 votes were cast in the first election. The present site of Oakdale was selected to serve as a temporary county seat.

John Neligh led a party up the Elkhorn River Valley in 1872 to explore the area. Neligh was so impressed with what he found that he returned to Omaha and purchased 560 acres of land along the river. It was his intention to persuade Antelope County voters to select his site as the county seat. On election day a messenger carrying this notice from West Point became lost along the way. Neligh's message to the inhabitants of the county failed to arrive in time and Oakdale was subsequently victorious. A one-story frame courthouse was built the following year for $650. In 1874 it was destroyed by fire and residents decided at that time to move the county offices to a more central location. Neligh, the current county seat, was the overwhelming choice.

Early farmers in Antelope County gave considerable attention to planting fruit and forest trees. It has been estimated that by 1882 more than 15,000 apple, plum and cherry trees had been planted.

The Neligh community became widely known for Neligh Mills, built on the north bank of the Elkhorn River. Grinding began at the mill on Oct. 10, 1874 and within the first 2½ months of operation 7,500 bushel of wheat had been processed. Today, Neligh Mills holds a prominent place in the area's history and is a popular stop for visitors to the area.

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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our 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."

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