Lexington is a city in Dawson County,

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 sout ...

, United States. The population was 10,348 at the 2020 census. It is the

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 ...

of Dawson County. Lexington is located in southern Nebraska, on 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 itsel ...

, southeast of North Platte. It sits along the route of

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

and the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

. In the 1860s, Lexington was the location of a stop along the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pi ...

History

Lexington began as a frontier trading post in 1860.History
, City of Lexington Official Homepage The post was later destroyed. Fort Plum Creek was established near its ruins in 1864. Lexington was founded in 1871. It was originally called Plum Creek.

Plum Creek Railroad Attack

About 3 1/2 miles miles west on route 30, a marker identifies the place where a band of

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

s derailed a railroad train on August 7, 1867, during construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Boxcars were looted and burned, and three workers were killed.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land, and is water.

Demographics

Lexington is the principal city of the Lexington, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Dawson and Gosper counties.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 10,230 people, 3,180 households, and 2,320 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was . There were 3,403 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 57.9%

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 o ...

, 6.6%

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 ...

, 1.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.4%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 29.7% 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 3.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 ...

people of any race were 60.4% of the population. There were 3,180 households, of which 45.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.0% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17, and the average family size was 3.70. The median age in the city was 29.4 years. 32.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.4% were from 25 to 44; 21.2% were from 45 to 64, and 9.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.7% male and 48.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 10,011 people, 3,095 households, and 2,237 families living in the city. The

was 3,401.7 people per square mile (1,314.7/km). There were 3,322 housing units at an average density of 1,128.8 per square mile (436.3/km). The racial makeup of the city was 64.20%

, 0.44%

, 1.17% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.02%

, 30.78% from

, and 2.30% from two or more races.

people of any race were 51.15% of the population. There were 3,095 households, out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14, and the average family size was 3.65. In the city, the population was spread out, with 32.6% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.6 males. As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $38,098, and the median income for a family was $43,571. Males had a median income of $25,207 versus $20,857 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 city was $14,148. About 10.7% of families and 12.9% 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 t ...

, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those aged 65 or over.

Economy

In 1990, Iowa Beef Packers built a large beef packing plant in Lexington and currently has over 2700 employees. In 2001, this facility was sold to Tyson.

Arts and culture

The

Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles The Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles (HMMV) in Lexington, Nebraska, is a non-profit organization run by volunteers and funded by donations and grants. The museum's goal is to restore, preserve and display historic military equipment of all ...

is located in Lexington adjacent to

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

. The Dawson County Historical Society is a museum with the art pieces made by locals and objects such as cars, guns and household objects from former times that were owned by locals.

Media

;Radio

KRVN (AM) KRVN 880 is an AM radio station in Lexington, Nebraska and serving most of the rural central and western part of the state. The station features agricultural news programming during the day and classic country at night. KRVN is one of two 50,00 ...

and KRVN-FM are in Lexington, owned by the

Nebraska Rural Radio Association The Nebraska Rural Radio Association is a radio broadcast network in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It was formed in 1948 with the goal of bringing information to farmers and ranchers in the state, including daily grain and livestock markets, weather ...

. The radio network (KRVN (AM),

KNEB (AM) KNEB (960 kHz) is an AM radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format targeting the agriculture industry. Like its sister station, KNEB-FM, it is licensed to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, United States and serves the Nebraska Panhandle & S ...

, and KTIC (AM)) is owned and operated by a cooperative of farmers and ranchers, which was founded in 1948 and started KRVN in 1951. ;Newspaper Lexington is served by the biweekly ''Lexington Clipper-Herald''.

Sports

From 1956 to 1958, Lexington was home to the Lexington Red Sox, who were a minor league baseball team. Playing at the Dawson County Fairgrounds, the Red Sox were members of Nebraska State League as an affiliate of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. The 1956 Lexington Red Sox captured the Nebraska State League Championship.

Notable people

Bill Barrett William Emery Barrett (February 9, 1929 – September 20, 2016) was an American Republican Party United States, Republican politician from Nebraska who served five terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2001 as the con ...

- U.S. Congressman * Aage Brix - competitor in soccer at the 1924 Olympics * Monte Kiffin - football coach * Donald Roe Ross - United States federal court judge and mayor of Lexington, Nebraska * Wee Willie Smith - football player *

Mick Tingelhoff Henry Michael Tingelhoff (May 22, 1940 – September 11, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a center for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 1962 to 1978. He was elected to the Pro Football H ...

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

inductee * John Wightman - lawyer, Nebraska state legislator, and mayor of Lexington, Nebraska * Yoskar Galván-Mercado - Current Profesional Soccer player for Union Omaha.

References

External links

City of Lexington

White Flight in Rural America: The Case Study of Lexington, Nebraska

Lexington and You
{{authority control Cities in Nebraska Micropolitan areas of Nebraska Hispanic and Latino American culture in Nebraska Cities in Dawson County, Nebraska County seats in Nebraska Pony Express stations