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Nebraska State...
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Nebraska Counties
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Nebraska Counties
There is 93 counties in state of Nebraska. |
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Cuming County, Nebraska
Cuming County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: West Point
Year Organized: 1855
Square Miles: 572 |
Court House: 200 S Lincoln, P.O. Box 290
County Courthouse
West Point, NE 68788-0290
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
named after acting Territory Gov. Thomas B. Cuming.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts:
Census Bureau Quick Facts
History
For three years after the original
boundaries of Cuming County were defined in 1855, fictitious "paper" towns were
designated as the county seat. The first was "Catherine," along the Elkhorn
River. When the boundaries were redefined in 1857, the county seat was relocated
to "Manhattan."
County organization came the following year and the county was named after
acting Territory Gov. Thomas B. Cuming. The seat of local government was once
again moved. This time it was to an actual settlement that had been known as New
Philadelphia, which by then had been renamed West Point. It was named as such
because it was located at the western-most point of where the Elkhorn River
Valley was settled at the time.
The first officials to serve the county did so without pay for nearly five
years. During that time period they also paid for necessary county supplies out
of their own pockets.
In the early 1860s the area developed rapidly. J.D. Neligh, founder of West
Point, journeyed to Omaha and Fontanelle to encourage settlers to come to the
lush river valley. Seven families accepted his suggestion and, upon arriving in
the area, called it the "Garden of the West."
As stores, hotels and a grist mill were built in West Point, the next move was
to build a courthouse in 1870. The building, complete with a tower, would stand
as a Northeast Nebraska landmark for many years.
The courthouse that serves the county today is a result of the foresight of
residents and officials of the 1940s. Petitions were circulated and presented to
the Board of Supervisors on May 6, 1947, asking that an election be held to
approve a one-mill tax levy for five years to provide a building fund for a new
courthouse. The election was held the following June and was resoundingly
approved by a 3-to-1 margin.
Ground was broken on Sept. 1, 1953, immediately behind the old courthouse.
Construction progressed so rapidly that the old courthouse was vacated and razed
the following year. In December 1854, county offices moved into the new
courthouse, which was dedicated July 21, 1955.
Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
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- Bancroft |
village |
Incorporated Area |
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- Beemer |
village |
Incorporated Area |
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- Bismark |
township |
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- Blaine |
township |
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- Cleveland |
township |
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- Cuming |
township |
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- Garfield |
township |
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- Logan |
township |
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- Monterey |
township |
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- St. Charles |
township |
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- West Point
(County
Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Wisner |
city |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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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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