Fort Towson

Map of 1885, with subdivision into:
*Boiling Springs
*Sharp's Ranch
*Valentine
*Seven Creeks
Map of 1919, with subdivision into precincts
precincts of 2010 (Cherry County in upper part of map)

Cherry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 5,455.[1] Its county seat is Valentine.[2] The county was named for Lt. Samuel A. Cherry, an Army officer who was stationed at Fort Niobrara and who had been killed in South Dakota in 1881.[3] Cherry County is in the Nebraska Sandhills. It is the largest county in the state at nearly 6,000 square miles (16,000 km2), larger than the state of Connecticut.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Cherry County is represented by the prefix 66 (it had the 66th-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

Cherry County lies on the north side of Nebraska. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of the state of South Dakota. According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of 6,009 square miles (15,560 km2), of which 5,960 square miles (15,400 km2) is land and 49 square miles (130 km2) (0.8%) is water.[4] It is by far Nebraska's largest county in land area and larger than the state of Connecticut, or the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.[5] The county is in Nebraska's Sandhills region; the dunes that give the region its name are a result of the most recent glacial period, the Pinedale glaciation. During the Holocene glacial retreat the sand dunes, which had been deposited in their current location by the vast continental glaciers, were exposed and grasses eventually took over.

Major highways

National protected areas

State protected areas

Adjacent counties

Owing to its size as Nebraska's largest county by area, Cherry County borders 11 counties, more than any other county in Nebraska. Seven of them are in Nebraska and four are in South Dakota. The adjacent counties are:

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18906,428—
19006,5411.8%
191010,41459.2%
192011,75312.9%
193010,898−7.3%
19409,637−11.6%
19508,397−12.9%
19608,218−2.1%
19706,846−16.7%
19806,758−1.3%
19906,307−6.7%
20006,148−2.5%
20105,713−7.1%
20205,455−4.5%
2022 (est.)5,4640.2%
US Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2013[1][10] 2020-2022[1]

As of the 2000 United States Census,[11] of 2000, there were 6,148 people, 2,508 households, and 1,710 families in the county. The population density was 1.02 people per square mile (0.39 people/km2). There were 3,220 housing units at an average density of 0 units per square mile (0/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.19% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 3.25% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.5% were of German, 12.6% English, 11.1% Irish and 7.3% American ancestry.

There were 2,508 households, out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.70% 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 2.98.

The county population contained 27.00% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,268, and the median income for a family was $36,500. Males had a median income of $23,705 versus $17,277 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,943. About 9.60% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.40% of those under age 18 and 14.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Villages

Census-designated place

Other unincorporated communities

Notable ranches

Time zones

Further information: Time in Nebraska

Cherry County residents observe two zones, the Central and Mountain time zones. The eastern third of the county, including county seat Valentine, is in the Central Time Zone, while the western two thirds, including Merriman, are in the Mountain Time Zone.[14]

Politics

Cherry County voters are reliably Republican. The county has not voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 landslide, and even then, the county was decided by less than four points. Republicans have carried the county by a double-digit margin in every election since, and no Democrat since Harry S. Truman in 1948 has even mustered 40% of the vote. Republicans also hold a massive advantage in voter registration in Cherry County, with 2,947 registered Republicans, as opposed to just 325 registered Democrats.[15]

United States presidential election results for Cherry County, Nebraska[16]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 2,844 87.00% 373 11.41% 52 1.59%
2016 2,623 84.12% 317 10.17% 178 5.71%
2012 2,557 83.45% 436 14.23% 71 2.32%
2008 2,360 77.15% 599 19.58% 100 3.27%
2004 2,509 82.48% 483 15.88% 50 1.64%
2000 2,322 81.56% 446 15.67% 79 2.77%
1996 1,905 68.04% 551 19.68% 344 12.29%
1992 1,707 56.75% 563 18.72% 738 24.53%
1988 2,240 77.35% 642 22.17% 14 0.48%
1984 2,720 85.05% 463 14.48% 15 0.47%
1980 2,517 79.78% 489 15.50% 149 4.72%
1976 2,197 68.83% 906 28.38% 89 2.79%
1972 2,610 84.93% 463 15.07% 0 0.00%
1968 2,199 73.23% 582 19.38% 222 7.39%
1964 2,244 61.11% 1,428 38.89% 0 0.00%
1960 2,695 72.08% 1,044 27.92% 0 0.00%
1956 2,414 73.20% 884 26.80% 0 0.00%
1952 3,148 76.63% 960 23.37% 0 0.00%
1948 2,141 58.93% 1,492 41.07% 0 0.00%
1944 2,314 62.80% 1,371 37.20% 0 0.00%
1940 2,705 60.30% 1,781 39.70% 0 0.00%
1936 1,874 47.58% 2,010 51.03% 55 1.40%
1932 1,754 37.30% 2,912 61.92% 37 0.79%
1928 2,905 69.04% 1,285 30.54% 18 0.43%
1924 1,663 43.69% 1,169 30.71% 974 25.59%
1920 1,636 66.37% 711 28.84% 118 4.79%
1916 1,091 36.44% 1,734 57.92% 169 5.64%
1912 679 25.90% 1,047 39.93% 896 34.17%
1908 1,048 48.34% 1,021 47.09% 99 4.57%
1904 978 66.94% 325 22.25% 158 10.81%
1900 922 55.24% 698 41.82% 49 2.94%

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Cherry County, Nebraska Profile". US Census Bureau. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Cherry County Archived March 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Nebraska Association of County Officials, 2004. Accessed April 30, 2008.
  4. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  5. ^ Federal Writers Project (1939). Nebraska, a Guide to the Cornhusker State. WPA. p. 313. ISBN 9781623760267.
  6. ^ "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  10. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Cherry County, Nebraska".
  11. ^ "U.S. Census website". US Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  12. ^ Thatcher NE Google Maps (accessed 17 January 2019)
  13. ^ Abbott Ranch NE Google Maps (accessed 17 January 2019)
  14. ^ "Nebraska Time Zone". www.timetemperature.com. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  15. ^ "VR Statistics Count Report" (PDF). Nebraska Secretary of State. August 1, 2023.
  16. ^ Election Results

External links

42°32′N 101°07′W / 42.54°N 101.12°W / 42.54; -101.12

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_County,_Nebraska