Merrick County, Nebraska

Merrick County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 7,845.[1] Its county seat is Central City.[2]

Merrick County
U.S. county
Merrick County courthouse in Central City
Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°10′N 98°02′W
Country United States
State Nebraska
Founded1858 (created)
1864 (organized)
Named forElvira Merrick
SeatCentral City
Largest cityCentral City
Area
 • Total494 sq mi (1,280 km2)
 • Land485 sq mi (1,260 km2)
 • Water9.6 sq mi (25 km2)  1.9%%
Population
 • Estimate 
(2018)
7,733
 • Density16.3/sq mi (6.3/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district3rd
Websitewww.merrickcounty.ne.gov
A map of Merrick County, Nebraska

Merrick County is part of the Grand Island, NE Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Merrick County is represented by the prefix 46 (it had the 46th-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Merrick County was formed in 1858, and was organized in 1864.[3][4][5] It was named for Elvira Merrick, the maiden name of the wife of territorial legislator Henry W. DePuy, who introduced the bill that created the county.[6]

When first formed, the county was bounded on the south by the Platte River, and by straight lines on the north, east, and west; enclosing 180 square miles (470 km²) of the Pawnee Reservation, which had been established in 1857. In 1873, the state legislature removed these reservation lands from the county, leaving it with a jagged northern border from which narrow panhandles extended northward from the northeast and northwest corners. In 1897, the Pawnee Reservation became Nance County.[7]

Geography

The terrain of Merrick County is low rolling plains, sloping to the east and northeast. Most of the area is under cultivation. The Platte River flows northeastward along the southeast border line of the county. A smaller drainage, Prairie Creek, parallels the river, flowing northeastward through the center of the county before discharging into the Platte River northeast of Merrick County.[8] The county has an area of 494 square miles (1,280 km2), of which 485 square miles (1,260 km2) is land and 9.6 square miles (25 km2) (1.9%) is water.[9]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1860109—
1870557411.0%
18805,341858.9%
18908,75864.0%
19009,2555.7%
191010,37912.1%
192010,7633.7%
193010,619−1.3%
19409,354−11.9%
19508,812−5.8%
19608,363−5.1%
19708,7514.6%
19808,9452.2%
19908,049−10.0%
20008,2041.9%
20107,845−4.4%
Est. 20187,733[10]−1.4%
US Decennial Census[11]
1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13]
1990-2000[14] 2010-2013[1]

As of the 2000 United States Census,[15] there were 8,204 people, 3,209 households, and 2,307 families in the county. The population density was 17 people per square mile (7/km²). There were 3,649 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.32% White, 0.22% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. 2.05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,209 households out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.10% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.99.

The county population contained 27.50% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 17.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,961, and the median income for a family was $39,729. Males had a median income of $26,998 versus $19,828 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,958. About 7.00% of families and 8.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.70% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Villages

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Politics

Merrick County voters have been strongly Republican for decades. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2016).

Presidential election results
Presidential Elections Results[16]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2016 77.2% 2,926 15.9% 602 6.9% 260
2012 71.4% 2,490 26.5% 925 2.1% 74
2008 69.2% 2,375 28.7% 986 2.0% 70
2004 75.8% 2,771 22.8% 833 1.5% 53
2000 71.3% 2,380 25.4% 848 3.4% 112
1996 58.7% 2,084 28.1% 997 13.3% 471
1992 48.7% 1,854 22.7% 864 28.7% 1,093
1988 66.2% 2,376 33.2% 1,192 0.7% 24
1984 76.1% 2,700 23.1% 818 0.8% 28
1980 73.4% 2,710 19.3% 712 7.4% 272
1976 60.2% 2,229 36.7% 1,360 3.1% 113
1972 73.2% 2,418 26.8% 887
1968 65.9% 2,031 27.3% 840 6.9% 212
1964 50.8% 1,798 49.2% 1,741
1960 69.0% 2,744 31.0% 1,234
1956 71.7% 2,857 28.3% 1,126
1952 77.3% 3,288 22.7% 965
1948 62.1% 2,074 37.9% 1,267
1944 65.9% 2,691 34.1% 1,390
1940 66.3% 2,886 33.7% 1,466
1936 48.4% 2,367 49.1% 2,401 2.4% 119
1932 36.2% 1,698 61.4% 2,881 2.5% 117
1928 69.6% 3,269 29.9% 1,403 0.6% 27
1924 54.3% 2,324 26.6% 1,137 19.1% 816
1920 65.1% 2,385 29.4% 1,075 5.5% 203
1916 44.8% 1,178 51.3% 1,349 3.8% 101
1912 22.7% 526 40.9% 950 36.4% 845
1908 46.9% 1,133 44.8% 1,081 8.3% 201
1904 61.1% 1,275 19.2% 400 19.7% 412
1900 52.3% 1,212 43.0% 996 4.8% 110
gollark: Yes, I'm aware, and English is unparseable so that's tricky.
gollark: So I thought "hmmm, what if I made *biased* random choice", and did that.
gollark: I was going to just add a normal "random choice" command, but those are kind of overdone.
gollark: Also, it's probably eventually going to need the ability to update wordlists at runtime.
gollark: It turns out that it's actually a very hard problem to make it work somewhat sensibly even if people use negatives and stuff like "bad" too, so I just made a heuristic thing where it does `weight = 1 / weight` once per instance of not, un, bad and some stuff like that.

See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  3. Fitzpatrick, Lilian Linder (1925). Nebraska Place-Names. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Studies in Language, Literature, and Criticism. p. 102. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  4. "Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey Reconnaissance Survey Final Report of Merrick County, Nebraska" (PDF). Nebraska State Historical Society. August 1, 1992. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  5. Andreas, A. T. (1882). "Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska". The Kansas Collection. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  6. "Nebraska Place Names (1925)". NEGenWeb Project. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  7. "Merrick County's 100th Year: 1858-1958". NEGenWeb Project. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  8. Merrick County NE Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)
  9. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  10. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  11. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  13. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  14. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  15. "U.S. Census website". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  16. Election Results

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