Keya Paha 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 769. 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 ...

is Springview. In the Nebraska license plate system, Keya Paha County is represented by the prefix 82 (it had the 82nd-largest number of vehicles registered by county in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

The name "Keya Paha" is taken from the

Dakota language The Dakota language ( or ), also referred to as Dakhóta, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, commonly known in English as the Sioux. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lak ...

; literally translated, it means "turtle hill". The Dakota name for a set of small hills was given to the county and to the Keya Paha River, which runs through it. All land north of the Keya Paha River (which includes a small portion of Keya Paha County and most of neighboring Boyd County) was not originally part of Nebraska at the time of statehood, but was transferred from

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

in 1882. Keya Paha County was organized in 1884 of land partitioned from Brown County.

Geography

Keya Paha County lies on the northern boundary of Nebraska, abutting the state of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. The county's terrain consists of low rolling hills, whose level areas are used for agriculture, including center pivot irrigation. The Keya Paha River flows east-southeastward through the northeastern part of the county, while the

Niobrara River The Niobrara River (; , , literally "water spread-out horizontal-the" or "The Wide-Spreading Water") is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Many early settlers, such as Mari Sandoz, referred to the rive ...

flows eastward along the south county line. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. Keya Paha County is located in Nebraska's Outback region.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 183 * N-7

Nebraska Highway 7 * N-12

Nebraska Highway 12 * N-137

Nebraska Highway 137

Adjacent counties

* Tripp County, South Dakota - north * Gregory County, South Dakota - northeast * Boyd County - east * Holt County - southeast * Rock County - south * Brown County - south * Cherry County - west * Todd County, South Dakota - northwest

National protected area

* Niobrara National Scenic River (part)

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 983 people, 409 households, and 292 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 548 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 99.39%

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 ...

, 0.20% Native American, and 0.41% from two or more races; 3.87% 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; 46.7% 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 ...

, 10.6% English, 9.8% American, 7.0% Irish and 6.0% Swedish ancestry. There were 409 households, out of which 24.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.30% 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, 4.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 26.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.91. The county population contained 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 23.40% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 20.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 101.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,911, and the median income for a family was $28,287. Males had a median income of $18,750 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 county was $11,860. About 22.40% of families and 26.90% 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 34.30% of those under age 18 and 18.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

As of 2008, Keya Paha County was the most Republican of all the counties in Nebraska, with 82.7% of its 707 registered voters registered as Republicans. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the county was

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

in 1916. In 1932, it was one of only two counties in the state not to vote for

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. 1994, Ben Nelson was the last Democratic gubernatorial candidate to carry the county.David Leip Electoral Atlas (Maps for Nebraska gubernatorial races)
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Communities

Villages

* Burton * Springview (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Jamison * Meadville * Mills *

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vill ...

* Riverview

Former communities

* Brocksburg

References

{{coord, 42.88, -99.72, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NE_source:UScensus1990 Nebraska counties 1884 establishments in Nebraska Populated places established in 1884