Keith County, Nebraska: History and Information

Keith County, Nebraska

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

County Seat: Ogallala
Year Organized: 1873
Square Miles: 1,061
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Named: Keith County was named in honor of M.C. Keith of North Platte, who owned one of the largest ranches at that time in Western Nebraska. He was also the grandfather of Keith Neville, governor of Nebraska from 1917 to 1919.

History

Keith County is probably best known today for being the home of Lake McConaughy and the Kingsley Dam. But in the early days, the area that would become Keith County was best known for cattle and cowboys.

The Oregon, Overland and Mormon Trails all played an important role in bringing early travelers through the area. Prior to that the area was seen only by trappers and the Pawnee and Sioux tribes. But with the trails and then the westward advancement of the Union Pacific Railroad, the area along the North and South Platte Rivers began to develop.

When organized on May 3, 1873, Keith County was named in honor of M.C. Keith of North Platte, who owned one of the largest ranches at that time in Western Nebraska. He was also the grandfather of Keith Neville, governor of Nebraska from 1917 to 1919. Ogallala was named as the county seat.

When the railroad passed through the area in the 1860s, the famous Texas-Ogallala Trail was forged to bring longhorn cattle to the shipping yards in Ogallala. From there they were transported to Midwestern markets or to Wyoming and Montana. With the cattle and cowboys came trouble. Ogallala's hotels and saloons served as sites for western cattlemen and Texas cattle kings to bargain over prices. History indicates that the gold flowed freely across the tables, the liquor across the bars, and occasionally blood across the floors. Ogallala became the site of the famous Boot Hill cemetery in 1875. For years it served as a burial place for settlers, transients and others who took part in the growth of Ogallala.

The Kingsley Dam on the North Platte River was constructed after the turn of the century to provide irrigation water for farmers in the central part of the state and hydro-electric power. For many years it was the world's second largest earthen dam. The lake that resulted, affectionately known as "Big Mac," is 25 miles long, has a shore line of about 100 miles, and provides a variety of recreational activities for tens of thousands of people each year.

Neighboring Counties:

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Cities:

Brule; Keystone; Lemoyne; Ogallala; Paxton

County Resources:

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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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