Washington County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 20,865. Its

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 ...

Blair Blair is a Scots-English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or " field", frequently ...

. Washington County is part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. In the Nebraska license plate system, Washington County is represented by the prefix 29 (it had the 29th-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Washington County is in eastern Nebraska on the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

. It was explored by Europeans as early as 1739 by Pierre Antoine and Paul Mallet, who were on a trapping expedition to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In 1804,

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

reported the establishment of the new

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

to a council of Indian chiefs near the present site of Fort Calhoun. As a result of this council, Fort Atkinson was established in 1819 and served as a key midwestern outpost until 1827. The first permanent settlement in Washington County was in 1854. In that same year, the county was organized as one of the eight original counties proclaimed by acting

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Thomas B. Cuming; it was reorganized in 1855. The county seat has been in three different towns: Fort Calhoun, DeSoto, and Blair, its present site since 1869. The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station south of Blair, which was

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

's smallest commercial nuclear reactor by rated capacity, was closed in October 2016 to begin decommissioning. An associated system of warning sirens was located in the southeastern part of the county for emergency notification in the event of a problem at the station. An

Atlas missile The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General Dy ...

launch site (Site B), formerly associated with

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the ...

and deactivated in the 1960s, lies east of Arlington.

Geography

Washington County lies on the east side of Nebraska. Its east boundary line abuts the west boundary line of the state of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, across the

. The

Elkhorn River The Elkhorn River is a river in northeastern Nebraska, United States, that originates in the eastern Sandhills and is one of the largest tributaries of the Platte River, flowing and joining the Platte just southwest of Omaha, approximately ...

flows southeastward along the county's southwest border, and a smaller drainage, the Little Papillon River, flows southward through the center part of the county, discharging into Glenn Cunningham Reservoir south of the county. The county's terrain consists of low rolling hills sloping to the east, with several drainage channels eroded into its eastern portion sloping down to the river. The county's planar areas are largely devoted to agriculture. The county has an area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water. It is Nebraska's fifth-smallest county by area.

Adjacent counties

* Burt County - north * Harrison County, Iowa - northeast * Pottawattamie County, Iowa - southeast * Douglas County - south * Dodge County - west

Protected areas

* Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge * DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Fort Atkinson State Historical Park * Neale Woods Nature Center (partial)

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,865 people and 8,234 households in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 96.3%

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 ...

, 1%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 1.6% from two or more races. 3.3% of the population were

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. 93.6% of the county was Non-Hispanic White. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 20,234 people and 8,022 households in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 97.1%

, 0.8%

, 0.4% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1%

, 1.2% from two or more races. 3.1% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 94.4% of the county was Non-Hispanic White. As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 18,780 people, 6,940 households, and 5,149 families in the county. 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 7,408 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.12%

, 0.34%

, 0.20% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.11%

, 0.30% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 37.1% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 11.9% Danish, 9.0% Irish, 7.8% American and 7.0% English ancestry. There were 6,940 households, out of which 36.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.00% 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, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.80% were non-families. 21.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.09. The county population contained 27.10% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $48,500, and the median income for a family was $56,429. Males had a median income of $36,901 versus $25,893 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 county was $21,055. About 4.10% of families and 6.00% 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 8.00% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

U.S. Highway 30 * US 75

U.S. Highway 75 * N-31

Nebraska Highway 31 * N-91

Nebraska Highway 91 * N-133

Nebraska Highway 133 Nebraska Highway 133 (N-133) is a state highway in Douglas and Washington counties in Nebraska, United States, that conencts U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in Omaha with U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in Blair. For its entire length, N-133 is a four ...

Airports

Washington County contains Blair Municipal Airport, and several small privately owned grass airstrips, such as the Orum Aerodrome. There is also a helipad at the Memorial Community Hospital in Blair.

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Fort Calhoun

Villages

* Arlington * Herman * Kennard * Washington

Census-designated place

Fontanelle A fontanelle (or fontanel) (colloquially, soft spot) is an anatomical feature of the infant human skull comprising soft membranous gaps ( sutures) between the cranial bones that make up the calvaria of a fetus or an infant. Fontanelles allow ...

Unincorporated communities

* De Soto *

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

* Orum * Spiker * Telbasta

Precincts

* Fort Calhoun * Richland * Herman * Township 6 * Arlington

Politics

Between 1900 and 1936, Washington County was a bellwether county, voting for the winner of the nationwide presidential election until

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee for president. Willkie appeale ...

won it despite losing nationwide. However, as is the case in most rural counties throughout Nebraska and the rest of America, the county's voters have since become reliably Republican from 1940 onward. As of 2020, in only one presidential election since 1936, that being Lyndon Johnon's narrow victory in 1964, has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate, and even he was only able to win it by a single point.

References

{{Coord, 41.53, -96.22, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NE_source:UScensus1990 Nebraska counties on the Missouri River 1855 establishments in Nebraska Territory Populated places established in 1855