Pawnee 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 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 serving ...

, the population was 2,773. 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 ...

Pawnee City Pawnee City is a city and county seat of Pawnee County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 878 at the 2010 census. History Pawnee City was incorporated in 1858, and is named after the Pawnee Native Americans. By the 1880s, Pawnee Ci ...

. In the Nebraska license plate system, Pawnee County is represented by the prefix 54 (it had the fifty-fourth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Pawnee County was formed in 1854. It was named for the Pawnee Native American tribe. On May 30, 1879, the "Irving, Kansas Tornado" passed through Pawnee County. This

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

measured F4 on the

Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is deter ...

, and had a damage path 800 yards wide and 100 miles.

Geography

Pawnee County lies on the south line of Nebraska. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

. The

Big Nemaha River Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...

flows southeastward through the NE corner of the county, and smaller local drainages flow upward through the county to discharge into the Big Nemaha. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, with its planar areas largely devoted to agriculture. The county has an area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

Nebraska Highway 4 Nebraska Highway 4 is a highway in Nebraska. The entirety of the route is in Nebraska's southern tier of counties. Beatrice is the only city with over 1,000 in population on the highway. Its western terminus is at an intersection with US 6 and ...

Nebraska Highway 8 * N-50

Nebraska Highway 50 * N-65

Nebraska Highway 65 * N-99

Nebraska Highway 99 Nebraska Highway 99 is a highway in southeastern Nebraska. It has a southern terminus at the Kansas border south of Burchard and just north of Summerfield, Kansas. Its northern terminus is north of Burchard at an intersection with Nebraska Hig ...

Nebraska Highway 105

Adjacent counties

* Richardson County − east *

Nemaha County, Kansas Nemaha County (standard abbreviation: NM) is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 10,273. The county seat is Seneca. History Early history For many millenn ...

− southeast * Marshall County, Kansas − southwest * Gage County − west * Johnson County − north * Nemaha County − northeast

Protected areas

* Bowwood State Wildlife Management Area * Burchard State Wildlife Management Area * Mayberry State Wildlife Management Area * Pawnee Prairie State Wildlife Management Area * Prairie Knoll State Wildlife Management Area * Table Rock State 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 c ...

, there were 3,087 people, 1,339 households, and 850 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 7 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 1,587 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.87%

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 ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.03% 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 0.65% from two or more races. 0.68% 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 1,339 households, out of which 24.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 5.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.50% were non-families. 32.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.86. The county population contained 22.70% under the age of 18, 5.10% from 18 to 24, 21.00% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 27.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 92.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,000, and the median income for a family was $36,326. Males had a median income of $24,770 versus $17,976 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 $16,687. About 6.80% of families and 11.00% 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 13.60% of those under age 18 and 11.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

(county seat)

Villages

* Burchard * Du Bois * Lewiston * Steinauer * Table Rock

Politics

Pawnee County voters have been Republican-leaning for decades. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected a Democratic Party candidate.

References

External links

*
Pawnee County tourism website
{{coord, 40.13, -96.24, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NE_source:UScensus1990 Nebraska counties Populated places established in 1854 1854 establishments in Nebraska Territory