Brewster is a village in and the

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 ...

of Blaine County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 12 at the 2020 census.

History

The town was laid out in 1884 by George Washington Brewster who had homesteaded the land there. It was named for one of his ancestors, William Brewster, who had arrived in America on the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

''. The community was named the county seat in 1887 after George Washington Brewster offered to build the required buildings. According to town lore, Brewster had expected the state capitol to be located in the community because of its central location.Schipporeit, Al.
"Brewster--Blaine County".

Nebraska... Our Towns.
Retrieved July 27, 2013. In 1887 the outlaw D.C."Doc" Middleton opened a saloon in the community. Brewster almost became a railhead, when the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of ...

graded a line from Sargent in 1897. The line would have had an intermediate station at Moulton.Twentieth Century Peerless Atlas Crowell Publishing 1908, Nebraska map Following the 2010 census Brewster became the smallest incorporated county seat in the United States replacing Amidon, North Dakota for the title. Amidon had 26 people in 2000 and Brewster had 29. In the 2010 census Brewster had 17 while Amidon had 20. There are two other unincorporated county seats in the same range -- Mentone, Texas (population 19), the county seat of Loving County and Gann Valley, South Dakota (population 14), the county seat of Buffalo County, South Dakota.

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 17 people, 8 households, and 6 families residing in the village. 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 21 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 100.0%

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 ...

. There were 8 households, of which 12.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.0% 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, and 25.0% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.50. The median age in the village was 61.8 years. 17.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 0.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 5.9% were from 25 to 44; 35.3% were from 45 to 64; and 41.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 58.8% male and 41.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 29 people, 12 households, and 9 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 20 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 100.00%

. There were 12 households, out of which 16.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.0% were

living together, and 16.7% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.70. In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 20.7% from 25 to 44, 37.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the village was $37,500, and the median income for a family was $51,250. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $28,750 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 village was $12,840. There were 33.3% of families and 20.0% of the population living 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 no under eighteens and none of those over 64.

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 village has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Brewster has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfa''/''Dfb'') with summers featuring hot afternoons, comfortable mornings, and occasional heavy rain, and winters that are generally freezing but vary from mild with

chinook wind Chinook winds, or simply Chinooks, are two types of prevailing warm, generally westerly winds in western North America: Coastal Chinooks and interior Chinooks. The coastal Chinooks are persistent seasonal, wet, southwesterly winds blowing in from ...

s to frigid Arctic conditions.

Notable person

* Milly Bernard - Member of the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district cont ...

from 1966 to 1976. * Finn Sawyer (fictional character) from the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

series Bunk'd, was stated to come from Brewster, according to the season three episode, "We Can't Bear It!".

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Blaine County, Nebraska Villages in Nebraska County seats in Nebraska