County Sites List
If you know the name of the town but don't know the county, check the Locations List on the County Unknown site to see if it is listed. See the Note below about some confusing town/county names.
- Legend:
- county online for at least 3 months
- new county
- pages under construction; only queries and/or
minimal information at this site - county online for over 3 months, but has new coordinator.
- county up for adoption. Contact the State Coordinator.
Nebraska became an official territory on May 30, 1854, and then a State on March 1, 1867. You can find more about it's history in our NEGenWeb Project Resource Center.
The dates and parent county columns are as close as we can get them. We have found conflicting resources in some areas, simply because some counties that were organized during Territorial days were either renamed, relocated, or combined with other counties after we became a state, two after 1900. If you have a county name for your ancestor from before 1909, it may not mean that that's the name of the county today. Be sure to check our Locations List for town names. That will give you a county to research today.
Special Note: There are a few town names that might be confused with county names. Please double-check that you have the correct county before entering a query for the following towns/counties:
Town County
Buffalo Dawson County not Buffalo Co.
Creighton Knox County
Dawson Richardson County not Dawson Co.
Garfield Lincoln or Valley Co. not Garfield Co.
Grant Perkins County not Grant Co.
Johnson Nemaha County not Johnson Co.
Kearney Buffalo County not Kearney Co.
Lincoln Lancaster County not Lincoln Co.
Loup City Sherman County not Loup Co.
Morrill Scotts Bluff County not Morril Co.
North Loup Valley County not Loup Co.
North Platte Lincoln County not Platte Co.
Pleasant Valley Dodge County not Valley Co.
Sarpy Douglas County not Sarpy Co.
South Sioux City Dakota County not Sioux Co.
Sioux Dakota County not Sioux Co.
Table Rock Pawnee County not Rock Co.
Thayer York County not Thayer Co.
Valley Douglas County not Valley Co.
West Lincoln Lancaster County not Lincoln Co.
Juniata Adams County
Wauneta Chase County
County | Status | County Seat | Parent County |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADAMS | | HASTINGS | 1867 - Clay |
| ANTELOPE | | NELIGH | 1871 - Pierce |
| ARTHUR | | ARTHUR | 1887- Unorganized Territory |
| BANNER | | HARRISBURG | 1888 - Cheyenne |
| BLAINE | | BREWSTER | 1885 - Custer |
| BOONE | | ALBION | 1871 - Platte |
| BOX BUTTE | | ALLIANCE | 1887 - Unorganized Territory |
| BOYD | | BUTTE | 1891 - Holt |
| BROWN | | AINSWORTH | 1883 - Unorganized Territory |
| BUFFALO | | KEARNEY | 1855 - Original County |
| BURT | | TEKAMAH | 1854 - Original County |
| BUTLER | | DAVID CITY | 1856 - Unorganized Territory |
| CASS | | PLATTSMOUTH | 1854 - Original County |
| CEDAR | | HARTINGTON | 1857 - Original County |
| CHASE | | IMPERIAL | 1873 - Unorganized Territory |
| CHERRY | | VALENTINE | 1883 - Unorganized Territory |
| CHEYENNE | | SIDNEY | 1871 - Lincoln |
| CLAY | | CLAY CENTER | 1871 - new Clay County Old Clay county formed in 1855 later became part of Gage and Lancaster |
| COLFAX | | SCHUYLER | 1869 - Dodge |
| CUMING | | WEST POINT | 1855 - Burt |
| CUSTER | | BROKEN BOW | 1877 - Unorganized Territory |
| DAKOTA | | DAKOTA CITY | 1855 - Original County |
| DAWES | | CHADRON | 1855 - Sioux |
| DAWSON | | LEXINGTON | 1860 - Buffalo |
| DEUEL | | CHAPPELL | 1888 - Cheyenne |
| DIXON | | PONCA | 1856 - Original County |
| DODGE | | FREMONT | 1854 - Original County |
| DOUGLAS | | OMAHA | 1854 - Original County |
| DUNDY | | BENKELMAN | 1873 - Unorganized Territory |
| FILLMORE | | GENEVA | 1856 - Unorganized Territory |
| FRANKLIN | | FRANKLIN | 1867 - Kearney (org 1871) |
| FRONTIER | | STOCKVILLE | 1872 - Unorganized Territory |
| FURNAS | | BEAVER CITY | 1873 - Unorganized Territory |
| GAGE | | BEATRICE | 1855 - Original County |
| GARDEN | | OSHKOSH | 1909 - Deuel |
| GARFIELD | | BURWELL | 1884 - Wheeler |
| GOSPER | | ELWOOD | 1873 - Unorganized Territory |
| GRANT | | HYANNIS | 1887 - Unorganized Territory |
| GREELEY | | GREELEY | 1871 - Boone |
| HALL | | GRAND ISLAND | 1858 - Original County |
| HAMILTON | | AURORA | 1867 - York |
| HARLAN | | ALMA | 1871 - Unorganized Territory |
| HAYES | | HAYES CENTER | 1877 - Unorganized Territory |
| HITCHCOCK | | TRENTON | 1873 - Unorganized Territory |
| HOLT | | O'NEILL | 1860 - (once named West) Knox |
| HOOKER | | MULLEN | 1889 - Unorganized Territory |
| HOWARD | | SAINT PAUL | 1871 - Hall |
| JEFFERSON | | FAIRBURY | 1856 - Gage |
| JOHNSON | | TECUMSEH | 1855 - Original County |
| KEARNEY | | MINDEN | 1860 - Original County |
| KEITH | | OGALLALA | 1873 - Unorganized Territory, Lincoln |
| KEYA PAHA | | SPRINGVIEW | 1884 - Holt, then Brown & Rock |
| KIMBALL | | KIMBALL | 1888 - Cheyenne |
| KNOX | | CENTER | 1873 - L'Eau Qui Court, Emmet (orig. names) |
| LANCASTER | | LINCOLN | 1856 - Original County |
| LINCOLN | | NORTH PLATTE | 1860 - Unorganized Territory (once named Shorter) |
| LOGAN | | STAPLETON | 1885 - Custer |
| LOUP | | TAYLOR | 1855 - Unorganized Territory Renamed Loup in 1883 |
| MADISON | | MADISON | 1856 - Platte |
| MC PHERSON | | TRYON | 1887 - Lincoln, Keith |
| MERRICK | | CENTRAL CITY | 1858 - Original County |
| MORRILL | | BRIDGEPORT | 1908 - Cheyenne |
| NANCE | | FULLERTON | 1879 - Merrick |
| NEMAHA | | AUBURN | 1854 - Original County |
| NUCKOLLS | | NELSON | 1860 - Clay |
| OTOE | | NEBRASKA CITY | 1854 - Original County |
| PAWNEE | | PAWNEE CITY | 1855 - Original County |
| PERKINS | | GRANT | 1887 - Keith |
| PHELPS | | HOLDREGE | 1873 - Unorganized Territory |
| PIERCE | | PIERCE | 1856 - Madison |
| PLATTE | | COLUMBUS | 1856 - Original County |
| POLK | | OSCEOLA | 1856 - Original County Part of York County in Territorial Days |
| RED WILLOW | | MCCOOK | 1873 - Frontier |
| RICHARDSON | | FALLS CITY | 1854 - Original County |
| ROCK | | BASSETT | 1857 - Brown |
| SALINE | | WILBER | 1855 - Gage, Lancaster |
| SARPY | | PAPILLION | 1857 - Original County |
| SAUNDERS | | WAHOO | 1856 - (formerly Calhoun) Sarpy, Douglas |
| SCOTTS BLUFF | | GERING | 1881 - Cheyenne |
| SEWARD | | SEWARD | 1855 - (once named Greene) Lancaster |
| SHERIDAN | | RUSHVILLE | 1885 - Sioux |
| SHERMAN | | LOUP CITY | 1871 - Buffalo |
| SIOUX | | HARRISON | 1877 - Unorganized Territory |
| STANTON | | STANTON | 1855 - (formerly Izard) Dodge |
| THAYER | | HEBRON | 1871 - Jefferson |
| THOMAS | | THEDFORD | 1887 - Blaine |
| THURSTON | | PENDER | 1865 - (Blackbird Co. - Indian Reservation) Burt |
| VALLEY | | ORD | 1871 - Unorganized Territory |
| WASHINGTON | | BLAIR | 1854 - Original County |
| WAYNE | | WAYNE | 1871 - Thurston |
| WEBSTER | | RED CLOUD | 1867 - Unorganized Territory |
| WHEELER | | BARTLETT | 1871 - Boone |
| YORK | | YORK | 1855 - Original County |
| UNKNOWN COUNTY | | Not sure where your ancestor lived in Nebraska? Check here. | |
With a LOT of help from
John McCoy, Barb Hruza, Bill Oliver, Ted and Carole Miller, and Chris Christensen.