Seneca is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Thomas County,

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 ...

in the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

region of the United States. The population was 33 at the 2010 census. Seneca was established on 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 ...

in 1888. The location of a division point on the railroad, it was for some years the largest settlement in Thomas County. The population dwindled following the closing of the railroad roundhouse. In 2014, after a dispute on the village board, the residents voted to disincorporate the village.

History

The

was constructed along the

Middle Loup River The Loup River (pronounced /lup/) is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately long, in central Nebraska in the United States. The river drains a sparsely populated rural agricultural area on the eastern edge of the Great Plains southeast ...

in the late 1880s. Construction was halted for the winter of 1887–88 in western Thomas County, and the town of Seneca was established at that point in January 1888.Hanson, Sandy.
"Seneca--Thomas County".Nebraska... Our Towns.
Retrieved 2014-07-02.Hugly, Christina, John Kay, David Anthone, and Robert Kay (1989). Retrieved 2014-07-02. Seneca became a division point on the railroad, with a depot,

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of Track (rail transport), tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for k ...

, and roundhouse, employing over 70 people. Railroad operations brought a measure of prosperity to the town, and promoted its growth. Between 1918 and 1923, the Potash Highway, running from Grand Island to

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

, was constructed parallel to the Burlington's route; it ran through the center of Seneca. The town boasted a number of retail businesses, including hotels, banks, a lumberyard, a railroad cafe, and an automobile dealership. For some years, it was the largest municipality in Thomas County, reaching a peak population of 476 in 1920. Retrieved 2011-10-05. pp. 87–99. In 1926, the Potash Highway was reconfigured as

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 Interstat ...

. In the early 1940s, a re-alignment to reduce the number of railroad crossings shifted the highway to the south of Seneca. The railroad moved its operations out of the town, eliminating jobs and causing the loss of population and the closing of additional businesses.Sources differ on the dates on which railroad facilities in Seneca were closed. According to , "the railroad pulled out of the town in the ic1922". According t
Hanson
the roundhouse closed " t long after the highway moved" (in the late 1940s), and " 1973, Seneca ceased being a crew-change point". In about 2013, a dispute arose over the village board's passage of an ordinance prohibiting the keeping of horses in the town. It gave rise to a petition to disincorporate Seneca. In May 2014, the residents voted 17–16 for disincorporation, and the village was dissolved by the Thomas County Board at the end of June 2014.Hansen, Matthew.
"Hansen: How tiny Seneca, Nebraska – torn apart by bitterness – voted itself out of existence".''Omaha World-Herald''.
2014-06-25. Retrieved 2014-07-02.Hammel, Paul.

ttp://www.omaha.com/ ''Omaha World-Herald''. 2014-07-02. Retrieved 2014-07-02.

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.

Demographics

2000 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 2000, there were 51 people, 26 households, and 17 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 52 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 100.00%

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 ...

. There were 26 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% 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, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.47. The median age in Seneca was 48 years: 19.6% of the residents were under the age of 18; 2.0% were aged from 18 to 24; 19.6% were between 25 and 44; 35.3% were from 45 to 64; and 23.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 75.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 64.0 males. As of 2000, the median income for a household in the village was $20,833 and the median income for a family was $21,667. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $20,500 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 $15,803. The village population included 12.1% who lived 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 ...

. That included 16.7% of the families and 23.1% of residents older than 64, but no one younger than 18.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 33 people, 21 households, and 10 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 46 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 100.0%

. There were 21 households, of which 2 had children under the age of 18 living with them, 8 were

living together, 1 had a female householder with no husband present, 1 had a male householder with no wife present, and 11 were non-families. Eleven of the households were made up of individuals, and 8 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.57 and the average family size was 2.10. The median age in the village was 55.3 years. Three of the residents were under the age of 18; one was between the ages of 18 and 24; four were between 25 and 44; fifteen were from 45 to 64; and ten were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.5% male and 54.5% female.

References

External links

"Seneca, Nebraska" story on the RadioLab Podcast
{{authority control Populated places in Thomas County, Nebraska Unincorporated communities in Nebraska Populated places disestablished in 2014 Former municipalities in Nebraska