Alliance is a city and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Box Butte County, in the western part of the state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, in the Great Plains region of the United States. Its population was 8,151 at the 2020 census. Alliance is the home to

Carhenge Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge located near the city of Alliance, Nebraska, in the High Plains region of the United States. Instead of being built with large standing stones, as is the case with the original Stonehenge, Carheng ...

, a replica of Stonehenge constructed with automobiles, which is located north of the city. It is also the location of Alliance Municipal Airport, the least-used airport in the mainland United States.

History

The town was originally named Grand Lake. When the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad came to Grand Lake in 1888, the railroad superintendent, G.W. Holdrege, wanted to change it to a simple one-word name closer to the beginning of the alphabet, which he thought would be better for business. The

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...

gave Holdrege permission, and he picked "Alliance" for the new name of the town. Alliance was incorporated as a city in 1891. The Alliance Army Airfield was established in 1942. Construction was completed in August 1943 and the Army Air Corps used the facility as a training base until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The facility was transferred from the federal government to the City of Alliance in 1953 and is currently in use as the

Alliance Municipal Airport Alliance Municipal Airport is in Box Butte County, Nebraska, three miles southeast of the city of Alliance, which owns it. Denver Air Connection offers scheduled passenger flights to Denver, which are subsidized by the Essential Air Service pro ...

. In the

Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. Lakota is mutually intelligible with the two dialects of the Dakota language, especially Western Dakota, and i ...

, Alliance is known as ', meaning "Sand River Bend".

Geography

Alliance is located at the western edge of Nebraska's Sand Hills. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate

Located in the High Plains, Alliance's climate is rather typical of the surrounding region. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, the town features a ''BSk'' climate, commonly described as a " Cold Steppe", with winters just below the threshold needed to be classified as a Continental climate, if it had enough precipitation to not be arid or semi-arid. The all-time record high for Alliance is , set in 1983, and the all-time record low is , set in 1989. Precipitation is significantly higher in summer than in winter, with the wettest month being June, and the driest month being January.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 8,491 people, 3,559 households, and 2,276 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 4,075 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 4.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 4.2% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 12.3% of the population. There were 3,559 households, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.0% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age in the city was 39.8 years. 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 29.2% were from 45 to 64; and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 8,959 people, 3,565 households, and 2,392 families living in the city. The

was 1,879.1 people per square mile (725.2/km). There were 4,062 housing units at an average density of 852.0 per square mile (328.8/km). The racial makeup of the city was 89.09%

, 0.49%

, 3.40% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 4.31% from

, and 2.09% from two or more races.

of any race were 8.94% of the population. There were 3,565 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $39,408, and the median income for a family was $47,766. Males had a median income of $39,122 versus $22,561 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $18,584. About 10.6% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Alliance Public Schools operates five schools: Early Childhood Center (birth to age 5), Emerson Elementary (kindergarten through grade 2), Grandview Elementary (grades 3–5), Alliance Middle School (grades 6–8), and Alliance High School (grades 9–12). St. Agnes Academy is the local parochial school, in association with Holy Rosary and St. Bridget Catholic Churches. St. Agnes is located within a historic building designed by noted architect William L. Steele.

Transportation

Airport

Alliance is served by the

, three miles southeast of the city, which it owns. In the 12 months ending in January 2021, the airport received 2,882 passengers, or an average of just 8 per day, making it the least-used airport in the mainland United States.

Railway

The BNSF railway line from the northern exit of the

Powder River Basin The Powder River Basin is a geologic structural basin in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its extensive coal reserves. The former hunting grounds of the Oglala Lakota, the area is very s ...

, one of the largest coal-mining areas of the world, to Alliance and the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

, sees a rather large number of coal trains every day, to power plants in the Midwest and South. In the southern areas of Alliance there is a large train yard which hosts many of these coal trains.

Tourism

Among the city's attractions is

, an assemblage of thirty-eight vehicles built in the model of Stonehenge by Jim Reinders and thirty-five family members in the summer of 1987. The sculpture was constructed on the farm of Reinders's late father just north of Alliance. Other works have been built in the surrounding area of the sculpture. Additionally, during August 2017, a

total solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

moved directly over the city, making it one of the best cities in Nebraska to see it, along with Grand Island and Falls City.

Notable people

Jimmy Abegg Jimmy Abegg (born December 29, 1954), also known as Jimmy A, is an American musician who grew up in Alliance, Nebraska and is currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1985, Abegg was a founding member of the progressive rock band Vector (ban ...

, visual artist, member of Rich Mullins' A Ragamuffin Band and

Vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

* Moon Bloodgood, actress/model, born in Alliance *

David Bunnell David Hugh Bunnell (July 25, 1947 – October 18, 2016) was a pioneer of the personal computing industry who founded some of the most successful computer magazines including ''PC Magazine'', ''PC World'', and ''Macworld''. In 1975, he was wo ...

, publisher, writer * Helen Duhamel, businesswoman and broadcaster, attended St. Agnes Academy in Alliance * James Emanuel, poet and critic * Jordan Hooper, basketball player for WNBA's

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2 ...

; born in Alliance * LeRoy J. Louden, Nebraska legislator *

Luke Redfield Luke Redfield is an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was born in Duluth, MN and has since been living all over the country. His songwriting is influenced by Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, and Jack Kerouac, as well as his own experience ...

, singer/songwriter, spent a portion of his youth in Alliance *

Peary Rader Peary Rader (October 17, 1909 – November 24, 1991) was an American early bodybuilder, Olympic lifter, writer, and magazine publisher from Nebraska. He was the founding publisher of ''Iron Man'' from 1936 to 1986. Early life Rader was born on Oc ...

, American

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

and magazine publisher from

. He was the founding publisher of '' Iron Man'' from 1936 to 1986. Died in Alliance.

In fiction

The second half of

Ann Patchett Ann Patchett (born December 2, 1963) is an American author. She received the 2002 PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction in the same year, for her novel ''Bel Canto''. Patchett's other novels include '' The Patron Saint of Liars'' (1 ...

's 1997 novel ''The Magician's Assistant'' is set entirely in Alliance.

References

External links

City of Alliance

Alliance Chamber of Commerce

Alliance Times-Herald newspaper
* {{Authority control Cities in Box Butte County, Nebraska Cities in Nebraska County seats in Nebraska