Nebraska State...
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Nebraska Counties
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Grant County, Nebraska
Grant County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Hyannis
Year Organized: 1884
Square Miles: 776
MSA: |
Court House: Put address here
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Named: Named after President Ulysses S. Grant
State & County QuickFacts:
Grant County Quick
Facts
History
In the years that immediately
preceded the establishment of what today is Grant County, this area in the heart
of the Nebraska Sandhills became knows as a favorite hiding place for outlaws
and other fugitives from justice due to the wide open, sparsely settled terrain
and the lack of local government authority.
The cowboys that drove the first herds of Texas longhorns north along the old
Abilene and Chisholm Trails realized the Sandhills region was a perfect range
for cattle grazing. Rolling hills covered with hearty native grasses and
numerous natural lakes made the area a cattleman's paradise. But with the cattle
came rustlers and then other outlaws. Finally, in 1887, Gov. John Thayer
appointed R.M. Moran to restore law and order in the territory. Sheriff Moran
quickly broke up the gangs of outlaws who hid in the area and captured many
notorious characters.
Grant County, named after President Ulysses S. Grant, was created by the
Legislature on March 31, 1887. At the time the settlement of Whitman was
designated as the county seat. But Hyannis residents felt their town was more
centrally located and was better suited to serve in this role. They petitioned
for an election and were successful in their bid. When a delegation traveled to
Whitman to retrieve the county's records, residents of Whitman refused. The
delegation finally succeeded and for years carefully guarded the documents in
Hyannis while the bitter feelings continued.
The Kinkaid Act of 1904 is said to have brought an end to the days of free and
open range, as new settlers hoped to establish farms on their claims. These
farmers quickly became disheartened as winds blew away the tilled soil and crops
failed. They sold their claims to area cattle ranchers.
According to state statistics, less than a decade ago Grant County had a larger
number of cattle per square mile than any other county in the United States. The
importance of the Hereford cattle breed to this county is even depicted with a
mosaic picture that is mounted on the side of the courthouse in Hyannis.
Neighboring Counties:
Cities:
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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