Valley 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 4,260. 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 ...

Ord Ord or ORD may refer to: Places * Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland * Ord, Nebraska, USA * Ord, Northumberland, England * Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland * Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig * Ord River, Western Austral ...

. In the Nebraska license plate system, Valley County is represented by the prefix 47 (it had the 47th-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Valley County was formed in 1871 and organized in 1873. Its name derives from the local terrain: much of the county consists of valley land lying between the North and Middle Loup Rivers. On June 12, 2010, the privately owned Bredthauer Dam broke due to heavy rain, flooding rural Valley County and the village of North Loup. Major flooding occurred in the village, with water "eight inches deep and running down Main Street." North Loup was evacuated for the flood's duration.

Geography

The North Loup River flows southeastward through the upper portion of the county, while the Middle Loup River runs southeastward through the lower portion. The terrain consists of rolling hills. The flat river valleys are largely dedicated to agriculture, with some

center pivot irrigation Center-pivot irrigation (sometimes called central pivot irrigation), also called water-wheel and circle irrigation, is a method of crop irrigation in which equipment rotates around a pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers. A circular area ...

employed. The county has an area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

Nebraska Highway 11 Nebraska Highway 11 (N-11) is a state highway in central and northern Nebraska, United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 80 (I-80) south of Wood River. Its northern terminus is at the South Dakota border north of Butte. The highway go ...

Nebraska Highway 22 Nebraska Highway 22 is a highway in central Nebraska. It runs east–west for . Its western terminus is at Nebraska Highway 70 south of Ord. Its eastern terminus is at U.S. Highway 81 northwest of Columbus. Route description Nebraska Highwa ...

Nebraska Highway 58 * N-70

Nebraska Highway 70 Nebraska Highway 70 is a highway in central Nebraska. Its western terminus is at an intersection with Nebraska Highway 2 and Nebraska Highway 92 east of Broken Bow. Its eastern terminus is at Nebraska Highway 14 in Elgin. Route description Neb ...

Protected area

Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park is a state park located southeast of Burwell, Nebraska, Burwell, Nebraska, preserving a typical U.S. Army cavalry outpost of the late 19th century. Fort Hartsuff was active from 1874 to 1881. Among its survivi ...

* Scotia Canal State Wildlife Management Area

Adjacent counties

Wheeler County Wheeler County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Wheeler County, Georgia * Wheeler County, Nebraska * Wheeler County, Oregon * Wheeler County, Texas Wheeler County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of t ...

– northeast * Greeley County – east * Sherman County – south * Custer County – west * Garfield County – north

Demographics

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 4,647 people, 1,965 households, and 1,298 families in the county. 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 8 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 2,273 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.15%

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 ...

, 0.15%

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 ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.11%

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 ...

, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.80% 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 0.41% from two or more races. 1.61% 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. There were 1,965 households, out of which 28.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.70% 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, 5.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.90% were non-families. 31.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.93. The county population contained 24.70% under the age of 18, 4.80% from 18 to 24, 22.60% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 24.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 91.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,926, and the median income for a family was $35,571. Males had a median income of $25,224 versus $17,217 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 $14,996. About 10.10% of families and 12.80% 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 16.30% of those under age 18 and 12.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

(county seat)

Villages

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

Elyria Elyria may refer to: *Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River (Ohio), Black ...

* North Loup

Unincorporated communities

* Olean *

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

Townships

* Davis Creek *

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

* Geranium *

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

* North Loup *

* Springdale * Vinton *

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Politics

Valley County voters are strongly Republican. In only one national election since 1916 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

References

{{authority control 1873 establishments in Nebraska Populated places established in 1873