Platte County, Nebraska

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

County Seat: Columbus
Year Organized: 1856
Square Miles: 678

Court House:

2610 14th Street
County Courthouse
Columbus, NE 68601-4960

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named after the Platte River which makes up its southern boundary.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Named after the Platte River which makes up its southern boundary, Platte County was officially established by the Legislature on Jan. 26, 1856. Three years later its boundaries were redefined to include an area to the west known as Monroe County, giving the county its present boundaries.

In the summer of 1856, advance agents from the Columbus Town Company came to the area from Columbus, Ohio. Upon reaching the Loup River the agents marked the site for a future town to be called Columbus. The new settlement quickly grew and soon had a mill, hotel and general store. The first meeting of the Board of Commissioners was conducted in December 1857 in a log house and it would be more than 10 years before the county would have a courthouse.

When the Union Pacific Railroad headed west through Columbus in 1866, the area's growth accelerated at a faster pace. The following year a special election was held to approve the issuance of $16,000 in bonds to build a courthouse and jail. Construction was completed in 1870.

Another boost to the county came in 1881 when the Atchison and Nebraska Branch of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad constructed a rail line connecting Columbus with Lincoln. Columbus rapidly became a flourishing railroad center and commerce hub.

The courthouse that was completed in 1870 was soon outgrown by the county. On June 26, 1922, the current courthouse was dedicated. The Grecian-Ionic style structure occupied a quarter-block in downtown Columbus when it opened. But in the early 1970s, the need for additional space once again became apparent and a $1.76 million addition opened in September 1976. The two-story addition houses the sheriff's office, civil defense office, County Board room, treasurer's office and the courtrooms.

Platte County enjoys a diverse economy today. Farming and livestock production, along with manufacturing, lead the way. Among the many manufacturing operations to locate in the county is Lindsay Irrigation, known worldwide for its center pivot systems.

Neighboring Counties:

Insert Counties Here

Cities and Towns:

- Bismark	township
- Burrows	township
- Butler	township
- Columbus (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Cornlea	village	Incorporated Area
- Creston	village	Incorporated Area
- Duncan	village	Incorporated Area
- Grand Prairie	township
- Granville	township
- Humphrey	city	Incorporated Area
- Joliet	township
- Lindsay	village	Incorporated Area
- Lost Creek	township
- Loup	township
- Monroe	village	Incorporated Area
- Oconee	township
- Platte Center	village	Incorporated Area
- Richland	village	Incorporated Area
- Shell Creek	township
- St. Bernard	township
- Tarnov	village	Incorporated Area
- Walker	township
- Woodville	township

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."