Antelope County, Nebraska

Antelope County, Nebraska

County seat: Neligh · Created: March 1, 1871; organized June 15, 1871 · Named for: an antelope (pronghorn) that Leander Gerrard’s party killed and ate near Cedar Creek in 1870 · License plates: prefix 26 · Population: 6,295 (2020 census); peak 15,243 in 1920 · Area: 858.6 sq mi · Time zone: Central

About Antelope County

Antelope County lies in northeast Nebraska’s farm country, crossed west to east by the Elkhorn River past Clearwater, Neligh, Oakdale and Tilden, with the Verdigre Creek country to the north and Cedar Creek to the south. It has three cities, Neligh, the county seat, Elgin and part of Tilden, and five villages: Clearwater, Oakdale, Orchard, Royal and Brunswick. The county borders Knox County on the north, Pierce on the east, Madison on the southeast, Boone on the south, Wheeler on the southwest and Holt on the west.

George St. Clair, called “Ponca George,” settled in 1868. The county was created and organized in 1871, and the name came from Sen. Leander Gerrard, whose party, chasing stock thieves in 1870, went two days without food before killing an antelope near Cedar Creek. Oakdale, the first town, was the first county seat (1872); its courthouse burned in 1875, and Neligh won the seat after a bitter contest in 1883, moving the records on January 1, 1884. The present courthouse was built in 1894–95. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley (later Chicago & North Western) reached Neligh in 1880 and Elgin in 1887; the Burlington’s Pacific Short Line through Orchard, Royal and Brunswick followed in 1890. On May 23, 1877, during the Ponca tribe’s forced removal, the child White Buffalo Girl died near Neligh, where her grave has been tended since. The county peaked at 15,243 people in 1920. The Elkhorn line was abandoned in 1992 and became the Cowboy Trail.

Towns of Antelope County

Travel Corridors

US 275 — the Elkhorn valley route from O’Neill and Ewing through Clearwater, Neligh, Oakdale and Tilden toward Norfolk, beside the Cowboy Trail. US 275 Corridor →

US 20 — east–west across the north through Orchard, Royal and Brunswick, toward Plainview and Sioux City. US 20 Corridor →

NE 14 — north–south from Albion and Petersburg through Elgin and Neligh to US 20 and on to Verdigre. Highway 14 Corridor → NE 70 ends at Elgin, NE 45 ends at Tilden, and NE 13 runs with US 20 for a few miles in the northeast corner.

Cameras: View Antelope County cameras → · Road conditions: Nebraska 511

Things to See

The Neligh Mill State Historic Site, the only 19th-century Nebraska flour mill that still has its original 1880s machinery (free); White Buffalo Girl’s grave and the Ponca Trail of Tears marker at Laurel Hill Cemetery; the Antelope County Historical Society museum in Neligh; the 1894–95 courthouse and Downtown Neligh Historic District; the TK-Starlite Drive-In; Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park north of Royal, where volcanic ash buried rhinos, horses and camels 12 million years ago; and the Orchard Historical Society in the 1915 Rex Theatre. Eleven county sites are on the National Register.

Outdoors

Grove Lake WMA north of Royal covers about 1,985 acres with a 50-acre lake, primitive camping and the county’s trout water: about 200 rainbow trout are stocked weekly in the East Branch of Verdigre Creek, below the state’s Grove trout rearing station. Red Wing WMA (320 acres) is 5 miles west of Neligh, and Hackberry Creek WMA (about 235 acres) is just east of Clearwater. The Cowboy Trail follows the Elkhorn through Clearwater, Neligh, Oakdale and Tilden. Camping: Riverside Park in Neligh (32 water and electric pads, dump station, showers), Elgin City Park, Grove Lake Bait Shop near Royal, and parks in Clearwater.

Antelope County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Neligh · Elgin · Tilden · Orchard · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Knox County (north) · Pierce County (east) · Madison County (southeast) · Boone County (south) · Wheeler County (southwest) · Holt County (west).

Events

Each year: Elgin’s Vetch Days in early June; Clearwater’s Big Rodeo in late June; Neligh’s Old Mill Days over the July 4 weekend; the Royal barbecue and tractor ride in mid-July; Tilden Prairie Days and Orchard Free Days in late July; the Antelope County Fair at Neligh in late July and early August; and the Clearwater Rough Stock Challenge in August.

Northeast Nebraska Region

Antelope County is part of the Northeast Nebraska travel region, which includes the Missouri River corridor, the Sandhills edge, and the fertile Elkhorn and Niobrara river valleys.