Butler County, Nebraska

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement

Butler County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 8,369.<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/> Its county seat is David City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county was created in 1856<ref name=fitzpatrick>Template:Cite book</ref> and organized in 1868.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the Nebraska license plate system, Butler County is represented by the prefix 25 (when the license plate system was established in 1922, it had the 25th-largest number of vehicles registered of all counties in the state).

In 2010, Nebraska's center of population was in Butler County, near the village of Rising City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Name

There is some uncertainty about how Butler County got its name.<ref name=coweb>Template:Cite web</ref> The most credible consensus seems to be that Butler County is named for William Orlando Butler, a U.S. congressman from Kentucky and U.S. Army major general who served during the Mexican–American War.<ref name=perkey>Template:Cite book</ref> Butler was offered the job of Governor of Nebraska Territory in 1854 by President Franklin Pierce, but he turned it down.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Regardless, Butler County was still named in his honor. The earliest references to the county being called "Butler County" are found in the journals of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature from the years 1857 and 1858.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Another common explanation proposed for the naming of Butler County is that it was named for David Butler, the first Governor of the State of Nebraska.<ref name=coweb /><ref name=fitzpatrick /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, Butler County was created by an act of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature on June 26, 1856,<ref name=perkey /> and was referred to as "Butler County" more than ten years before David Butler became Governor of Nebraska and two years before he had even moved to Nebraska from Indiana in 1859.<ref name=natgov>Template:Cite web</ref> When David Butler came to Nebraska, he settled in Pawnee County, not in the Butler County area.<ref name=natgov /> Confusingly, however, the name for the county seat of Butler County, David City, is also sometimes attributed to David Butler, but there are also conflicting sources concerning its origin.<ref name=perkey /> A second alternate explanation for the origin of Butler County's name is given in Andreas' History of Nebraska. It seems to indicate that the county might have been named for William Butler, an early settler who moved to the area in 1860 and became county sheriff in 1868. However, as noted before, the county had been in existence and had been referred to as "Butler County" well before that point in time.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (1.0%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Adjacent counties

Template:Div col

Saunders County – east
Seward County – south
York County – southwest
Polk County – west
Platte County – northwest
Colfax County – north

Template:Div col end

Demographics

Template:US Census population

Racial Makeup
Race (NH = Non-Hispanic)	% 2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2010<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	Pop. 2020	Pop. 2010	Pop. 2000
White Alone (NH)	91.1%	96.4%	97.6%	7,626	8,092	8,556
Black Alone (NH)	0.3%	0.3%	0.1%	28	24	6
American Indian Alone (NH)	0.3%	0.1%	0.1%	22	10	10
Asian Alone (NH)	0.1%	0.3%	0.1%	9	27	11
Pacific Islander Alone (NH)	0%	0%	0%	1	0	4
Other Race Alone (NH)	0.3%	0.1%	0.1%	23	5	5
Multiracial (NH)	2.1%	0.5%	0.3%	178	42	30
Hispanic (Any race)	5.8%	2.3%	1.7%	482	195	145

The most commonly picked ancestries among the population in 2020 were German (30.4%), Czech (22.6%), English (12.3%), Irish (10.1%), Mexican (3.7%), and Polish (3.1%).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As of the 2000 United States census,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> there were 8,767 people, 3,426 households, and 2,350 families in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 3,901 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 98.38% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. 1.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 33.1% were of German and 32.0% Czech ancestry.

There were 3,426 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.90% were married couples living together, 5.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.40% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.13.

The county population contained 27.90% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 17.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 104.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,331, and the median income for a family was $44,441. Males had a median income of $28,856 versus $20,979 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,394. About 4.80% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.80% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

David City (county seat)

Villages

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Savannah

Townships

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Politics

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Geographic Location

Template:Butler County, Nebraska Template:Nebraska Template:Authority control Template:Coord

Butler County, Nebraska

Contents

Name