Fillmore County is a county located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, the population was 5,890. Its

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 ...

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. The county was named for President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

. In the Nebraska

license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificatio ...

system, Fillmore County is represented by the prefix 34 (it had the thirty-fourth largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Fillmore County was established, and its boundaries defined, by the

Nebraska Territorial Legislature The Nebraska Territorial Legislature was held from January 16, 1855 until 1865 in Omaha City, Nebraska Territory. Major issues Slavery In 1854 the Kansas–Nebraska Act created the Nebraska Territory, overturning the Missouri Compromise b ...

in 1856. It was named for

, the thirteenth president of the United States, who had left office in 1853. The first homesteaders arrived in the county in 1866. Ohio natives William O. Bussard and William C. Whitaker filed claims on the West Fork of the Big Blue River in the county's northeastern portion. Settlement of the area was slow until 1870; it was concentrated in the county's northern part, in part because the surveyed route of the

Burlington and Missouri River Railroad The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad (B&MR) or sometimes (B&M) was an American railroad company incorporated in Iowa in 1852, with headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. It was developed to build a railroad across the state of Iowa and began oper ...

ran through York County just north of the present-day York-Fillmore county line. In 1870, Fillmore City, the county's first town, was established on the Big Blue about north of present-day Grafton; in 1871, the county's first post office opened in Fillmore City. In 1871, the Burlington and Missouri laid its tracks through the area. A recent change in federal law allowed them to alter their route, shifting it about south of their original surveyed path. This placed the route on more level country, reducing the cost of cutting and bridging; it also shifted the line from York County to northern Fillmore County. The county was formally organized in 1871; up to this time, it had been administered from, and taxed by, Saline County, its neighbor to the east. In April, an election was held to choose officers to organize the county; at this time, it was decided to place the county seat in the county's center. The town site was surveyed and platted, and given the name "Henry". It could not be occupied, since it was on school land owned by the State; an act of the Legislature was necessary before the land could be sold. The Legislature passed a bill in the summer of 1872 to allow sale of the school lands. At about that time, the new county seat's name was changed from "Henry" to "Geneva", at the suggestion of the daughter of a local settler, who wanted it named after her family's old home of Geneva, Illinois. The county grew rapidly through the first years of the 1870s. Three towns were established along the Burlington line; in keeping with the railroad's practice of naming their towns alphabetically, they were dubbed Exeter, Fairmont, and Grafton. By 1873, the entire county had been "thickly settled". Its growth suffered a check in the mid-1870s, due to the worldwide depression following the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the ...

and an infestation of grasshoppers in the late summer of 1874. As additional railroad lines were constructed through the county, new towns were established. In about 1886, the Burlington built a branch line from Beatrice to Holdrege, running east–west through southern Fillmore County; Shickley, Strang, and Ohiowa were founded on or near the route. A north–south line connected this branch to the Burlington's main line, running from Strang to Fairmont. Milligan was established in 1887, on the Kansas City and Omaha line. Several ethnic European enclaves developed during the time of the county's homesteading. An extensive Czech settlement covered much of Saline County and extended into eastern Fillmore County, including Milligan. A concentration of Swedish immigrants developed in eastern Clay County, extending into southwestern Fillmore County in the area between Shickley and

Ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, ...

. German settlements formed in both the county's southeastern and southwestern corners.

Geography

According to the

US 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 the ...

, the county has an area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. The county lies within the watershed of the Big Blue River. Water in the county drains via the West Fork of the Big Blue; via Turkey Creek, which runs into the Big Blue near De Witt, Nebraska; and via the Little Blue, which joins the Big Blue in Kansas. Fillmore County lies within the eastern portion of Nebraska's loess plain, a region of soil deposited by the wind between 25,000 and 13,000 years ago, forming a plain that slopes to the southeast. The Big Blue and its tributaries have incised channels into the loess surface in places, but in much of the county the original plain remains. These loess-plain regions are characterized by extensive upland flats with shallow depressions, lined with fine-grained and relatively impermeable silt, and tend to form shallow ephemeral wetlands when filled with rain or snowmelt; such wetlands range in area from less than to more than . The county's surface is underlain by

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

sedimentary bedrock, topped with unconsolidated Quaternary sediments. The bedrock was eroded into hills and valleys before the deposition of the overlying sediments, so the thickness of the latter varies. The unconsolidated sediments range in thickness from ; they form an aquifer whose saturated zone ranges in thickness from .

Adjacent counties

* York County – north * Seward County – northeast * Saline County – east * Jefferson County – southeast * Thayer County – south * Nuckolls County – southwest * Clay County – west * Hamilton County – northwest

Protected areas

* Bluebill State Wildlife Management Area * Marsh Hawk State Wildlife Management Area * Morphy Lagoon National Wildlife Management Area * Rauscher Lagoon National Wildlife Management Area * Redhead Wildlife Management Area * Rolland Lagoon National Wildlife Management Area * Sandpiper State Wildlife Management Area * Sora Wildlife Management Area

Demographics

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, there were 6,634 people, 2,689 households, and 1,801 families in the county. 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 12 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 2,990 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.75%

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 ...

, 0.21%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

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 ...

, 0.44% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.83% 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 0.69% from two or more races. 1.66% of the population were

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. 48.6% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 10.4%

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, 7.1%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and 7.0%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ancestry. There were 2,689 households, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.10% were married couples living together, 5.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.95. The county population contained 26.30% under the age of 18, 5.10% from 18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 21.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,162, and the median income for a family was $41,725. Males had a median income of $29,813 versus $18,507 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 county was $17,465. About 4.80% of families and 7.80% 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 8.20% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

* U.S. Route 81 – enters from Thayer County; runs northward into York County. *

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

runs east–west across the northern part of the county. *

Nebraska Highway 41 Nebraska Highway 41 is a highway in Nebraska. It runs for a length of in a west-to-east direction. Its western terminus is in Clay Center at an intersection with Nebraska Highway 14 and Nebraska Spur 18D. Its eastern terminus is at an interse ...

runs east–west across the central portion of the county. * Nebraska Highway 74 runs east–west through the southern part of the county. * BNSF Railway – runs east–west across northern Fillmore County, passing Exeter, Fairmont, and Grafton. In the Nebraska license plate system, Fillmore County is represented by the prefix 34: when the state began using county numbers on its license plates in 1922, it had the 34th-largest number of registered vehicles.

Communities

City

(county seat)

Villages

* Exeter * Fairmont * Grafton * Milligan * Ohiowa * Shickley * Strang

Unincorporated communities

* Burress * Carlisle * Martland

Ghost towns

*Dudley * Sawyer * Buxton * Turkey Creek *Martland *Lyman *Fillmore *Bryant *Eden

Townships

* Belle Prairie * Bennett * Bryant *

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

* Exeter-Fairmont * Franklin *

* Glengary * Grafton * Hamilton *

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

* Madison * Momence * Stanton *

West Blue West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

Politics

Fillmore County voters have been reliably Republican since the beginning, selecting the Republican Party candidate in 80% of national elections (as of 2016).

Notes

Cordes, Henry J.
"A railroad history lesson: Union Pacific and Burlington Northern".Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
originally appeared in ''Omaha World-Herald'', 8 November 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2013. The three towns listed formed part of a sequence: Crete, Dorchester, Exeter, Fairmont, Grafton, Harvard, Inland, Juniata, Kenesaw.
Retrieved 2 May 2013.
Retrieved 2 May 2013. Keech and Dreeszen (1968), pp. L8, L12, L15. . Retrieved 1 May 2013. "Map of Nebraska, published by the Burlington Route, 1886".
Retrieved 8 May 2013. Map: Nebraska Operating Division.

BNSF Railway.
Retrieved 29 April 2013. Gaffney (1968), p. 1; the Bussard and Whitaker homesteads were located on Section 8, Township 8, Range 3 West of the

sixth principal meridian The Sixth principal meridian at 97°22′08″W extends from the baseline coincident with the north boundary of Kansas in latitude 40°N south through the state to its south boundary in latitude 37°N and north through Nebraska to the Missouri Ri ...

. "Grafton - Fillmore County".Nebraska... Our Towns.
Retrieved 1 May 2013. "Milligan - Fillmore County".Nebraska... Our Towns.
Retrieved 8 May 2013. "Ohiowa - Fillmore County".Nebraska... Our Towns.
Retrieved 8 May 2013. "Shickley - Fillmore County".Nebraska... Our Towns.
Retrieved 1 May 2013. "Strang - Fillmore County".Nebraska... Our Towns.
Retrieved 1 May 2013. "General Highway Map: Fillmore County, Nebraska."Nebraska Department of Roads.
Retrieved 28 April 2013. Perkey (2003), p. 67.

Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
Retrieved 8 May 2013. Gaffney (1968), p. 3. Gaffney (1968), pp. 4-5. Gaffney (1968), p. 5. Gaffney (1968), p. 15. Gaffney (1968), p. 254. Sources differ on the source of Geneva's name. Lilian Linder Fitzpatrick
"Nebraska Place-Names"
1925, p. 59, states that it was named after

Geneva, New York Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake; all land portions of the city are within Ontario County; the water portions are in Seneca County. The population was 13, ...

. Gaffney (1968), p. 5., and Perkey (2003), p. 68, state that Geneva, Illinois was the namesake. Perkey's introduction (p. v) states that he was motivated by Fitzpatrick's work; this suggests that he was aware of the New York hypothesis, and had some reason for choosing Illinois instead. "History Of Nebraska Passenger Vehicle License Plates".Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles.
Retrieved 8 May 2013. Keech and Dreeszen (1968), pp. L1, L4-L5, L7; for age of loess deposits, see Muhs, Daniel R.; Bettis III, E. Arthur; Aleinikoff, John N.; McGeehin, John P.; Beann, Jossh; Skipp, Gary; Marshall, Brian D.; Roberts, Helen M.; Johnson, William C.; and Benton, Rachel (2008)
"Origin and paleoclimatic significance of late Quaternary loess in Nebraska: Evidence from stratigraphy, chronology, sedimentology, and geochemistry"
''USGS Staff—Published Research, Paper 162'', retrieved 28 April 2013. . Retrieved 1 May 2013. Murphy, D. Retrieved 17 May 2013. Hendrickson, Joan E., Norman E. Landgre, and Joni Gilkerson. Retrieved 17 May 2013. "Nebraska Railroads".Nebraska Department of Roads.
2009-01-31. Retrieved 8 May 2013. "Fillmore County, Nebraska".Surf Your Watershed.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Retrieved 28 April 2013.

References

* Gaffney, Wilbur G., ed. (1968). ''The Fillmore County Story''. Copyrighted by Geneva Community Grange No. 403. * Keech, C. F. and V. H. Dreeszen (1968).
"Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Fillmore County, Nebraska".United States Geological Survey.
Retrieved 28 April 2013. * Perkey, Elton A. (2003). ''Perkey's Nebraska Place Names''. Nebraska State Historical Society; revised edition.

External links

Fillmore County Official Web Site
{{authority control Nebraska counties 1871 establishments in Nebraska