Alma is a city in Harlan County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2010 census. It is 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 ...

of Harlan County.

History

Alma was founded in the spring of 1871 by a group of

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

railroad laborers originally from

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistic ...

. Harlan County was created by the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the sm ...

on June 3, 1871, and Alma was made the county seat on July 3, 1871. A dispute among the original settlers led to a dissolution of the town, but it was re-organized in 1874. Alma's status as county seat was challenged by residents of Orleans, but an 1884

Nebraska Supreme Court The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. Each justice is initially appointed by the governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each jus ...

decision affirmed Alma's status as seat of Harlan County. Alma officially incorporated in July 1881. The town was named after a daughter of one of the early settlers. On January 13, 1880, the

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 ...

reached Alma, providing a significant boost for local commerce and industry. In 1887, the Kansas City and Omaha Railroad also reached Alma. Telephone service reached Alma in June 1899.

Electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...

arrived with a steam power plant in 1906 and water service followed in 1907. In 1935, major flooding of the nearby

Republican River The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, rising in the High Plains of eastern Colorado and flowing east U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed ...

provided an impetus to build a dam on the river. The Army Corps of Engineers started construction of the Harlan County Dam on August 1, 1946, and completed work in November 1952. The lake thus created,

Harlan County Reservoir The Harlan County Reservoir includes a dam and a reservoir of located in Harlan County in south-central Nebraska. Its southernmost part extends into northern Phillips County, Kansas. The reservoir is formed by a dam constructed by the U.S. ...

, became one of Alma's top recreation destinations. During

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 ...

, Alma hosted a small number of captured

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prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

who were interned at

Camp Atlanta Camp Atlanta () was a World War II camp for German prisoners of war (POWs) located next to Atlanta, Nebraska. Over three years, it housed nearly 3,000 prisoners. After the war, a number of soldiers and prisoners from the camp returned to live in ...

in neighboring Phelps County and who were employed for farm work and other tasks in Harlan County.

Geography

Alma is located at (40.100733, -99.362618). 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 th ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. Alma is located at the junction of U.S. routes 136 and 183. The community is at the northwest end of Harlan County Lake. The town is near the

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 inc ...

of 2010, there were 1,133 people, 502 households, and 303 families living in the city. 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 . There were 597 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.1%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.4% from

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, and 0.4% from two or more races.

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or Latino of any race were 0.6% of the population. There were 502 households, of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% 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, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.6% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the city was 49.6 years. 22.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.9% were from 25 to 44; 27.3% were from 45 to 64; and 28.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,214 people, 520 households, and 318 families living in the city. The

was 1,744.7 people per square mile (669.6/km). There were 594 housing units at an average density of 853.7 per square mile (327.6/km). The racial makeup of the city was 99.18%

, 0.08% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.08% from

, and 0.58% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.58% of the population. There were 520 households, out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were

living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 28.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $27,315, and the median income for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $26,786 versus $17,065 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 $14,795. About 9.5% of families and 13.1% 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 17.5% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.