Benkelman is a city in and the county seat of Dundy County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 821.

History

Benkelman was originally called Collinsville, in honor of Moses Collins, and under that name was founded circa 1880. In 1882, it was renamed Benkelman by the railroad for J. G. Benkelman, a stock raiser.

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 city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Demographics

2010 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 2010, there were 953 people, 445 households, and 242 families residing in the city. 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 556 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.9%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.8% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races.

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 were 4.4% of the population. There were 445 households, of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% 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, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.6% were non-families. 42.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age in the city was 48.5 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.2% were from 25 to 44; 29.4% were from 45 to 64; and 25.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,006 people, 458 households, and 266 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 576 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.51%

, 0.80% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.10%

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 ...

, 0.10% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.30% of the population. There were 458 households, out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were

living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.76. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.0% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 21.1% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 29.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $27,788, and the median income for a family was $37,813. Males had a median income of $26,741 versus $19,107 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 city was $16,700. About 7.4% of families and 11.9% 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 ...

, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

* U.S. Route 34 - east–west route through Benkelman * Nebraska Route 61 - north–south route through Benkelman

Rail

The

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

Railroad passes through Benkelman from east to west generally following the

Republican River The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, rising in the High Plains of eastern Colorado and flowing east U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map acce ...

. US 34 follows this general alignment as well.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

passes through town, although there is no station in town. The nearest is

McCook station McCook station is an Amtrak intercity train station in McCook, Nebraska, served by the ''California Zephyr''. The depot opened on April 13, 1926, by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad to replace an earlier structure from 1882. The ...

an hour to the east.

Notable people

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert th ...

, actor * Dave Heineman, 39th Governor of Nebraska * Edward Snedeker, Lieutenant general in the Marine Corps *Phaelan Sanford,

American Football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

free safety for the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

References

External links

City of Benkelman
{{Authority control Cities in Nebraska Cities in Dundy County, Nebraska County seats in Nebraska