Elwood is a village in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Gosper County Gosper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,893. Its county seat is Elwood. The county was formed in 1873, and was organized in 1881. It was named for John J. Gosp ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, United States. It is part of the

Lexington, Nebraska Lexington is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 10,348 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th most populous city in Nebraska. It is the county seat of Dawson County. Lexington is located in southern Nebraska, ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 707 at the 2010 census.

History

Elwood was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1885 when the

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

was extended to that point. It was named for Elwood Thomas, a homesteader. Gosper County courthouse detail1

The

Gosper County Courthouse The Gosper County Courthouse, at 507 Smith Ave. in Elwood, Nebraska, was built in 1939. It was designed by architects McClure & Walker with Art Deco style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It was deemed histor ...

in Elwood is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

building was designed by the Kearney architectural firm of McClure & Walker.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , all land. Elwood is located at the junction of

Nebraska Highway 23 Nebraska Highway 23 is a highway in southwestern Nebraska, United States. Its western terminus is on the Colorado border at Venango, where the highway continues west as Colorado State Highway 23. The eastern terminus of NE 23 is at Holdrege ...

and

U.S. Route 283 U.S. Route 283 is a spur of U.S. Route 83. It currently runs for 731 miles (1,175 km) from Brady, Texas at U.S. Route 87 to Lexington, Nebraska at U.S. Route 30. It passes through the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. R ...

, and is south of Elwood Reservoir. In Elwood, the two highways respectively follow Ripley Street and Smith Street.

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 707 people, 282 households, and 183 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 312 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.7%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 2.3% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.7% of the population. There were 282 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were

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

living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.1% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.8% 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 2.98. The median age in the village was 46.4 years. 24.6% of residents were under 18; 4.2% were between 18 and 24; 19.7% were from 25 to 44; 25.7% were from 45 to 64, and 25.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 46.7% male and 53.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 761 people, 294 households, and 207 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 319 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.03%

, 0.13% Native American, 0.92% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.76% of the population. There were 294 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were

living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.94. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 26.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the village was $36,500, and the median income for a family was $42,917. Males had a median income of $30,809 versus $22,778 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $18,042. About 0.5% of families and 3.9% 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 3.0% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Elwood Public Schools educates students from Preschool through twelfth grade. The school mascot is the Elwood Pirates. Elwood has joined with Eustis and Farnam for athletic teams in 2021. The teams use the name Hi-Line Bulls.

References

External links

Elwood Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Villages in Gosper County, Nebraska Villages in Nebraska County seats in Nebraska Lexington Micropolitan Statistical Area