Nebraska State...
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Nebraska Counties
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Gage County, Nebraska
Gage County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Beatrice
Year Organized: 1855
Square Miles: 855
MSA: |
Court House: Put address here
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Named: named in honor of William D. Gage, a Methodist minister who
served as chaplain of the Legislature at the time the county was established.
State & County QuickFacts:
Gage County Quick
Facts
History
Gage County is said to have had the
country's first homestead entered under the U.S. Homestead Act of 1862.
According to historical records, Daniel Freeman's claim was recorded on Jan. 1,
1863, the day the act became effective. Freeman's claim, which was located along
Cub Creek about four miles west of Beatrice, was recorded as claim 1 on page 1
in volume 1 of the records of the General Land Office in Washington, D.C.
Some have disputed that Freeman could have filed the nation's first claim as
there were more than 100 land districts that were opened simultaneously
throughout the country. But to this day the honor remains with Freeman and the
county in which he homesteaded.
Gage County was established by the Territorial Legislature on March 15, 1855. It
was named in honor of William D. Gage, a Methodist minister who served as
chaplain of the Legislature at the time the county was established. In addition
to having the county named after him, Gage was appointed as one of the
commissioners who would be responsible for locating the county seat.
The county would be officially organized in 1857. Within a year the townsite of
Beatrice was incorporated in the center of the county and in 1859 it was
confirmed as the county seat.
The county's first courthouse was built in 1870, but within 15 years the
building had become too dangerous and county offices were moved to a nearby bank
building. In 1891 the present Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse was built. Its
grand design, once lauded by Laura Ingalls Wilder, was destined to become a
landmark. In 1960, however, that nearly changed when a fire destroyed much of
the building's interior. Voters rejected a proposal to build a new courthouse.
Rather, they favored restoring the 69-year-old building. It turned out to be a
wise decision, as the restored building was named to the National Register of
Historic Places in 1990. The following year the 100th anniversary of the
courthouse was commemorated with a rededication ceremony.
Neighboring Counties:
Cities:
- Adams; Barneston; Beatrice; Blue Springs; Clatonia; Cortland; Filley;
Holmesville; Liberty; Odell; Pickrell; Virginia; Wymore
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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Penn Foster High School
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