Pender 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 Thurston 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. On March 22, 2016, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

resolved a disagreement as to whether Pender is located on the

Omaha Indian Reservation The Omaha Reservation () of the federally recognized Omaha people, Omaha tribe is located mostly in Thurston County, Nebraska, with sections in neighboring Cuming County, Nebraska, Cuming and Burt County, Nebraska, Burt counties, in addition to Mo ...

, holding unanimously that "the disputed land is within the reservation’s boundaries." The predominantly European-American population was 1,115 at the 2020 census.

History

European-American settlers founded the village in April 1885, naming it in honor of the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

politician and businessman Sir John Pender, a pioneer of the Transatlantic Cable. He founded what is now

Cable & Wireless Worldwide Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC (informally Cable & Wireless) was a British multinational telecommunications services company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. It was formed in 2010 by the split of Cable & Wireless plc into two ...

, and was a director of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway.

Current issues

Tribal authorities of the federally recognized Omaha Nation assert that Pender is within the boundaries of the reservation as defined in its 1865 treaty with the United States. However, a Nebraska state court held in 1999 that the western boundary was a railroad right-of-way east of Pender, because of Omaha land sales to white farmers over the decades. The tribe's response is that the state does not have the power to redefine the boundary set by the Omaha treaty with the US government in 1865.Paul Hammel, “Debate Over Tribal Jurisdiction at Standstill Police on the Omaha Reservation; Want the Authority to Arrest non-Indians,”
''Omaha World Herald'' (Nebraska), February 15, 2004, p. 3b, accessed February 27, 2012 The boundary and jurisdiction issues have received recent testing related to traffic control and liquor sales.Paul Hammel, "Nebraska, Indian Officials to Meet They Will Discuss Their Differences Over the Boundaries of the Omaha Tribe's Reservation and who Polices its Roads"
''Omaha World-Herald,'' January 7, 2003, 1b Seeking to gain revenue from "nuisance" businesses, the Omaha in 2006 passed a law establishing the requirement for liquor merchants to pay the tribe license fees and a 10% sales tax to operate within the reservation. It notified the seven liquor stores in Pender, as well as those in Rosalie, and Walthill, Nebraska, all within reservation boundaries, that as of January 1, 2007, they would have to pay the Omaha Tribe licensing fees and a 10 percent tax on sales in order to continue to operate within the reservation. Ben Thompson, an Omaha attorney who represents the tribe, said that it had the legal right to establish such laws within the reservation. The executive director of the Nebraska State Liquor Commission said that he would consult with the state attorney general on the issue.Paul Hammel, "Tribe's Liquor Tax May Restart Old Boundary Dispute,"
, ''Omaha World-Herald'' (Nebraska), December 28, 2006, p. 03B, at H-Amindian Discussion Log, accessed February 27, 2012 In April 2007, liquor merchants in Pender (later joined by the village) filed a federal lawsuit challenging the tribe's authority to demand the liquor taxes, based on their contention that Pender was outside the reservation boundaries. In October 2007 the US District Court ordered the parties first to take their challenge to the Omaha Tribal Courts, as part of the "tribal exhaustion doctrine" established by federal precedent, and denied the plaintiffs' request for dismissal. Judge Richard Kopf said he may not be bound by the tribal court, but wanted to hear their opinion.Timberly Ross (Associated Press), "Judge orders liquor lawsuit to Omaha tribal court"
''News from Indian Country'', October 2007, accessed March 1, 2012 He required the parties to report back to him regularly until a ruling was made by the Omaha Tribal Courts. While the case was pending, the judge ordered a temporary stay on the merchants' paying the liquor sales tax to the Omaha Tribe. In January 2012, the plaintiffs in ''Pender v. Omaha Tribe'' filed a request with the Omaha Tribal Courts for a summary judgment due to the length of time the case had taken. The defendants requested that no hearing be held before June 2012. The plaintiffs had submitted a detailed report to them by an expert witness on transactions related to Pender and the western boundary. In 2008 the village had voted for a five-year, 1% sales tax to finance its lawsuit related to the boundary and liquor tax issues, as well as to promote economic development in the town."Pender has spent $285,000 on reservation boundary dispute"
, ''The Pender Times'' online, January 2012, accessed March 1, 2012 On March 22, 2016, the Supreme Court unanimously held that Pender was within the boundaries of the Omaha Indian reservation.

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.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 1,115. 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 499 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 92.9%

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 ...

, 2.4% Native American, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.3% Asian, 2.0% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 3.8%

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.

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 1,002 people, 444 households, and 291 families residing in the village. The

was . There were 497 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.5%

, 1.8% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population. There were 444 households, of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% 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, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age in the village was 49.5 years. 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.3% were from 25 to 44; 28.8% were from 45 to 64; and 27.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,148 people, 489 households, and 310 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 542 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.34%

, 0.09%

, 0.78% Native American, 0.26% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.78% of the population. There were 489 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were

living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.84. In the village, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 29.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the village was $30,990, and the median income for a family was $38,333. Males had a median income of $26,008 versus $19,792 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 $17,672. About 3.9% of families and 6.8% 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 9.5% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The local school district is Pender Public Schools.
Text
/ref> The Pender High School Pendragons won the

Nebraska School Activities Association The Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) is a statewide organization which oversees interscholastic competition between high schools in the state of Nebraska. The NSAA is the only interscholastic activities association in Nebraska, thus ...

Class D1 girls basketball state championship in 2013 and 2024, and the Class C2 championship in 2023.

Notable people

* Marion Broadstone – professional

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 ...

player *

Monty Budwig Monte Rex Budwig (December 26, 1929 – March 9, 1992) was a West Coast jazz double bassist, professionally known as Monty Budwig. Early life Monte Rex Budwig was born in Pender, Nebraska, on December 26, 1929.His full birthname was Monte Rex ...

– jazz double-bassist known for his work with

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this s ...

. * Dale R. Buis – US soldier killed during

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

; listed as first name on the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, commonly called the Vietnam Memorial, is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granit ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Laurie Frink Laurie Ann Frink (August 8, 1951, Pender, Nebraska – July 13, 2013, New York City) was an American jazz trumpeter who worked primarily in big band idioms. Frink attended the University of Nebraska (1969-1972) and studied under Jimmy Maxwell ( ...

- world-class American jazz trumpeter who worked primarily in big band idioms. * Loren Miller –

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

civil rights lawyer and judge born in the town; moved as a boy with his family to Kansas. * Emilio Ochoa - Cuban dentist and political activist; signatory of Cuba's 1940 Constitution; taught Spanish at Pender High School from 1968-70 following exile. *

Maurice Pate Maurice Pate (October 14, 1894 – January 19, 1965) was an American humanitarian and businessman. Pate served as the first executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) from 1947 until his death in 1965, after being proposed ...

– Founding figure of the

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to childre ...

; moved to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

as a boy. * Steven M. Reppert - American neuroscientist known for his contributions to the fields of chronobiology and neuroethology. *

Ad Wenke Adolph Eilert "Ad" Wenke (January 22, 1898 – March 3, 1961) was a player in the National Football League and a state supreme court justice in the state of Nebraska. Of German ancestry, Wenke played college football for the Nebraska Cornhusker ...

- professional football player.