Kearney County, Nebraska: History and Information

Kearney County, Nebraska

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

County Seat: Minden
Year Organized: 1860
Square Miles: 516
MSA:

Court House:

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Named: Its roots and development date back to Fort Kearny. Kearny City was located just west of the fort and for a while would serve as the county seat. Since it was located on the Oregon Trail, Kearny City was primarily supported by travelers.

The difference between the spelling of county and fort names occurred when someone in the federal government inadvertently added an "e." The error became so prevalent that it was never corrected and the county's spelling would remain Kearney.

History

The Kearney County courthouse in Minden is known statewide for the tens of thousands of lights that adorn it each Christmas season. The three-story structure and its 100-foot dome are so brilliantly illuminated each season that Minden is often referred to as "The Christmas City."

This annual ritual actually dates back to 1915 when a group of citizens requested that lights be strung up around the courthouse square and along Minden Avenue to the city auditorium where the state encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic was to be held in May of that year. The request was approved, but inclement weather prevented this illumination tribute from taking place. The city's light commissioner then suggested that the 100 bulbs be colored and strung around the courthouse that December. The idea proved to be so popular that more and more bulbs were added over the years. In addition, a holiday pageant was incorporated in the annual activities.

Kearney County was organized and its boundaries defined by the Territorial Legislature on Jan. 10, 1860. Its roots and development date back to Fort Kearny. Kearny City was located just west of the fort and for a while would serve as the county seat. Since it was located on the Oregon Trail, Kearny City was primarily supported by travelers.

The difference between the spelling of county and fort names occurred when someone in the federal government inadvertently added an "e." The error became so prevalent that it was never corrected and the county's spelling would remain Kearney.

An election in 1872 moved the county seat to a townsite named Lowell. Eventually the demand came for a more centrally located county seat and in 1878 construction began on a frame courthouse in Minden. This building soon became antiquated and in 1906 the present courthouse was officially opened. The Bedford stone, three-story structure features marble floors and stairways, and that well-known 100-foot dome from which they began stringing holiday lights roughly 10 years later.

Neighboring Counties:

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Cities:

Axtell; Heartwell; Minden; Norman; Wilcox

County Resources:

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County Resource Guide

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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