Hooker County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the U.S. 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 ...

. 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 serving ...

, the population was 736. 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 ...

Mullen Mullen is a surname of Irish and Scottish origin. Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Mullen (born 1992), Australian professional footballer * Andrew Mullen (born 1996), British Paralympian swimmer * Ann A. Mullen (1935–1994), Amer ...

, which (as of 2019) is the county's only community of substantial size. In the Nebraska license plate system, Hooker County is represented by the prefix 93, because it had the smallest number of registered vehicles out of the state's 93 counties when the licensing system was established in 1922.

History

Hooker County was formed in 1889 with construction of a line for

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

into the territory. It was named for

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

General Joseph Hooker.

Geography

The terrain of Hooker County consists of low rolling hills running east–west. The Middle Loup River flows eastward through the upper part of the county. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.05%) is water. Most of Nebraska's 93 counties (the eastern 2/3) observe

Central Time Central Time may refer to: * Central Time Zone, a time zone in North America * Central European Time, a time zone in Europe *Australian Central Time, a time zone in Australia (see Time in Australia Australia uses three main time zones: Austra ...

; the western counties observe Mountain Time. Hooker County is the easternmost of the Nebraska counties to observe Mountain Time.

Major highways

Nebraska Highway 2 Nebraska Highway 2 (N-2) is a state highway in Nebraska consisting of two discontinuous segments. The western segment begins at the South Dakota border northwest of Crawford and ends southeast of Grand Island at an intersection with Interstate ...

Nebraska Highway 97

Adjacent counties

* Cherry County – north * Thomas County – east (Central Time Zone boundary) * McPherson County – south * Arthur County – southwest * Grant County – west

Lakes

* Carr Lake * Jefford Lake

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 c ...

, there were 783 people, 335 households, and 220 families in the county. The population density was 1.0 person per square mile (0.4/km²). There were 440 housing units at an average density of 0.6 per square mile (0.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.72%

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 ...

, 0.38% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 1.02% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 335 households, out of which 26.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.30% were married couples living together, 3.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.30% were non-families. 33.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.90. The county population contained 24.00% under the age of 18, 4.10% from 18 to 24, 21.60% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 26.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 83.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,868, and the median income for a family was $35,114. Males had a median income of $25,234 versus $16,250 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 $15,513. About 4.90% of families and 6.90% 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 ...

, including 5.30% of those under age 18 and 13.10% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Village

(county seat)

Former community

* Dunwell

Politics

Hooker County voters have been overwhelmingly Republican ever since

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry the county was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 when the region was decimated by the

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) a ...

, and in no presidential election since 1936 has the Democratic nominee reached thirty percent of the county's vote – a record of Republican dominance equalled only by the Unionist Kentucky counties of

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

and Clinton where no Democrat has passed thirty percent since before 1896. In

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

Hooker was the nation's most Republican county, and it was in the top ten most Republican in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, 1976, and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

References

External links

County website
{{authority control Nebraska counties 1889 establishments in Nebraska Populated places established in 1889