Box Butte 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 so ...

. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 10,604. 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 ...

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. The county was formed in 1886; it took its name from a large box-shaped

butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a F ...

north of Alliance. In the Nebraska license plate system, Box Butte County is represented by the prefix 65 (it had the sixty-fifth largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Box Butte County was formed as part of a series of partitionings of the Nebraska Panhandle. In 1883, the Nebraska legislature divided the Panhandle into two counties, Sioux and Cheyenne. In 1885 the original Sioux County was divided into three counties: Sioux, Dawes, and Sheridan. Because of the distance to the county seat of Chadron, residents of southern Dawes County asked that it be split off; in 1886, the legislature created Box Butte County. The new county was named after a

in the northern part of the county; prior to the county's formation, its name had been used in advertisements by railroad companies seeking to entice settlers to the area. In the Nebraska license plate system, Box Butte County is represented by the prefix 65 (it had the 65th-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

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 (11%) is water.

Major highways

* *

Nebraska Highway 2 * N-71

Nebraska Highway 71 Nebraska Highway 71 is a highway in western Nebraska. Its southern terminus is at the Colorado border south of Kimball, as a continuation of Colorado State Highway 71. Its northern terminus is at the South Dakota border northwest of Crawford, ...

Nebraska Highway 87

Adjacent counties

* Dawes County - north * Sheridan County - east * Morrill County - south * Scotts Bluff County - southwest * Sioux County - west

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 12,158 people, 4,780 households, and 3,298 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 11 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 5,488 housing units at an average density of 5 per square ;mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.84%

White White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.37%

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 ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 2.74% Native American, 0.53% 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 Ocea ...

, 3.55% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. 7.65% 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. 36.4% were of German, 8.4% English, 8.1% Irish and 5.3%

American ancestry American ancestry refers to people in the United States who self-identify their ancestral origin or descent as "American," rather than the more common officially recognized racial and ethnic groups that make up the bulk of the American pe ...

. There were 4,780 households, out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% 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 t ...

living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.00% were non-families. 27.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.05. The county population contained 28.10% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,366, and the median income for a family was $46,670. Males had a median income of $36,966 versus $21,762 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 $18,407. About 9.70% of families and 10.70% 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 13.70% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

(county seat)

Village

* Hemingford

Census-designated place

Berea Berea may refer to: Places Greece * Beroea, a place mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, now known as Veria or Veroia Lesotho * Berea District Romania * Berea, a village in Ciumești Commune, Satu Mare County * Berea, a tributary of the Va ...

Other unincorporated places

* Letan *

Nonpareil Nonpareil(s) from the French meaning 'without equal', it may also refer to: * Nonpareil, Guyana, a village in Guyana * Nonpareil, Nebraska, a community in the United States * Nonpareil, Oregon, a former community in the United States * Nonpareils ...

Politics

Box Butte County voters have been reliably Republican for decades; since 1940, the county has selected the Republican Party presidential candidate in every national election (as of 2020).

Notable people

Robert Ball Anderson Robert Ball Anderson (1 March 1843–30 November 1930) was an early African-American homesteader in Nebraska. Born into slavery, he served in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War and later became one of Nebraska's largest black landow ...

, early homesteader

Notes

References

Kooiman, Barbara A., and Elizabeth A. Butterfield (1996). . Retrieved December 11, 2017.

External links

County website
{{authority control Nebraska counties 1886 establishments in Nebraska Populated places established in 1886