Saunders County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers 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 sover ...

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 southwe ...

. 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 servin ...

, the population was 22,278. 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 st ...

Wahoo Wahoo (''Acanthocybium solandri'') is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh makes it a prized and valued game fish. In Hawaii, the wahoo is kn ...

. Saunders County is included in the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. In the Nebraska license plate system, Saunders County is represented by the prefix 6 (the county had the sixth-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Saunders County was established by an 1856 act of the

Nebraska Territorial Legislature The Nebraska Territorial Legislature was held from January 16, 1855 until 1865 in Omaha City, Nebraska Territory. Major issues Slavery In 1854 the Kansas–Nebraska Act created the Nebraska Territory, overturning the Missouri Compromise b ...

, and was organized in 1866; its boundaries were redefined in 1858. It was originally named Calhoun County after John Calhoun, surveyor general of Kansas and Nebraska. Other sources contend that it was named for John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. In 1862, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, it was renamed after Nebraska territorial governor

Alvin Saunders Alvin Saunders (July 12, 1817November 1, 1899) was a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, as well as the final and longest-serving governor of the Nebraska Territory, a tenure he served during most of the American Civil War. Education Saunders was bor ...

Geography

Saunders County is bordered on the north and east by the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itself ...

. Several local drainages move runoff water from the county eastward into the Platte. The county terrain is composed of low rolling hills, which slope eastward and northeastward to the river valley. The county has an area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War Grand Army of the Republic, veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast fr ...

U.S. Highway 77 * N-64

Nebraska Highway 64 Nebraska Highway 64 is a highway in Nebraska. There are two segments to the highway. The western segment lies in Butler County between U.S. Highway 81 and Nebraska Highway 15. The eastern segment goes through Saunders and Douglas counties betw ...

Nebraska Highway 66 Nebraska Highway 66 is a highway in central and eastern Nebraska. It is a discontinuous highway with four segments heading in a west-to-east direction. The first segment begins at Nebraska Highway 14 south of Central City and ends at U.S. Highway 8 ...

Nebraska Highway 79 Nebraska Highway 79 is a highway in eastern Nebraska. It is a north–south highway which has a length of . The southern terminus of Highway 79 is northwest of Lincoln near Lincoln Airport at U.S. Highway 34. The northern terminus of High ...

Nebraska Highway 92 Nebraska Highway 92 is a highway that enters the state from Nebraska's western border at the Wyoming state line west of Lyman, Nebraska, to the state's eastern border on the South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Missouri River in Omaha, w ...

Nebraska Highway 109

Adjacent counties

* Douglas County – east * Sarpy County – east * Cass County – southeast * Lancaster County – south * Butler County – west * Dodge County – north

Protected areas

* Bramble State Wildlife Management Area * Czechland Lake Recreation and Wildlife Management Area * Jack Sinn Memorial State Wildlife Management Area * Memphis Lake State Recreation Area * Pioneer State Recreation Area''Pioneer State Recreation Area, Wahoo NE'' Google Maps (accessed 26 January 2019)
/ref>

Demographics

As of the

, there were 20,778 people and 8,040 households. 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 RosenberPopul ...

was 28 people per square mile (10.7/km²). There were 9,221 housing units at an average density of 12.3 per square mile (4.75/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.2%

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 on ...

, 0.6%

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 have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.00%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1.0% 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 1.1% from two or more races. 2.0% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 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 ce ...

, there were 19,830 people, 7,498 households, and 5,443 families in the county. The

was 26 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 8,266 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.49%

, 0.11%

, 0.29% Native American, 0.22%

, 0.01%

, 0.35% from

, and 0.55% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population were

of any race. There were 7,498 households, out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.60% 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, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.40% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.11. The county population contained 27.90% under the age of 18, 6.30% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,173, and the median income for a family was $49,443. Males had a median income of $33,309 versus $22,922 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 $18,392. About 5.30% of families and 6.60% 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 t ...

, including 7.30% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Ashland *

(county seat) * Yutan

Villages

* Cedar Bluffs * Ceresco * Colon *

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

* Leshara * Malmo *

Mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

* Morse Bluff *

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

* Valparaiso *

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

Census-designated place

* Wann

Townships

* Ashland *

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

Center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

* Chapman *

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

* Clear Creek *

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

Elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

* Leshara *

Marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

* Mariposa * Morse Bluff * Newman * North Cedar * Oak Creek * Pohocco * Richland * Rock Creek * South Cedar *

Stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transparen ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Politics

Saunders County voters tend to vote Republican. In only two national elections since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020)

References

External links

Saunders County (by Nebraska Rural Web)

Saunders County Government (website)
* Mead and Hunt. (2003)
Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey: Saunders County.
' Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 8/30/07. {{Coord, 41.23, -96.63, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NE_source:UScensus1990 1866 establishments in Nebraska Territory Populated places established in 1866