Sarpy County, Nebraska

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

County Seat: Papillion
Year Organized: 1857
Square Miles: 241

Court House:

1210 Golden Gate Drive
County Courthouse
Papillion, NE 68046-3088

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Col. Peter A. Sarpy was placed in charge of the American Fur Company post and it is in his honor that the county was eventually named

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Sarpy County has the honor of having within its boundaries the oldest settlement on record in Nebraska. It was a trading post set up on the bank of the Missouri River in 1805 by Spanish adventurer Mauel De Lisa. According to historical accounts, upon his arrival De Lisa was so taken by the natural beauty of the area that he exclaimed, "Belle vue."

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had actually visited the area the preceding year during their famous expedition to find the headwaters of the Missouri River. But De Lisa is credited with being the first white settler in the area.

In 1810, the American Fur Company established a trading post on this site. Col. Peter A. Sarpy was placed in charge of the post and it is in his honor that the county was eventually named. Traders for hundreds of miles to the north and west brought their furs to the post. The West Coast gold rush of 1849 brought a second wave of trading action to the area.

When the Indian title to the land expired in July 1854, the area was opened to pioneers for settlement. A short time later a steam ferry across the Missouri River went into operation to enhance immigration.

Sarpy County was once considered a part of Douglas County. On Feb. 7, 1857, the Legislature adopted an act to separate the two and create Sarpy County. For many years Bellevue served as the county seat and in 1861 a courthouse was built.

A settlement on a plateau just west of Bellevue began to develop. In time Papillion and Sarpy Center had grown from being "crossroads" to becoming villages. In 1874 the first attempt was made to move the county seat. During a special election, Sarpy Center was victorious. But before a courthouse could be built, an election in October 1875 changed the location to Papillion. After raising about $10,000, a courthouse was built in Papillion that same year. It would serve the county until 1922, when a second structure was built. The third and present courthouse was dedicated in 1975.

Neighboring Counties:

Insert Counties Here

Cities and Towns:

- Bellevue	city	Incorporated Area
- Gretna	city	Incorporated Area
- La Vista	city	Incorporated Area
- Omaha	city	Incorporated Area
- Papillion (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Springfield	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

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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