Cheyenne County, Nebraska

Cheyenne County, Nebraska

County seat: Sidney · Created: 1867; organized 1870 · Named for: the Cheyenne people · License plates: prefix 39 · Population: 9,468 (2020 census); peak 14,828 in 1960 · Area: 1,196 sq mi · Time zone: Mountain

About Cheyenne County

Cheyenne County lies in the southern Panhandle along Lodgepole Creek, which flows east past Potter, Sidney and Lodgepole, with high wheat tableland to the north and south. The Pony Express used the Lodgepole Creek route in 1860–61, and the Union Pacific built up the valley in 1867, founding Sidney and its Army post, Sidney Barracks, later Fort Sidney. The legislature created the county in 1867 and named it for the Cheyenne people; it was organized in 1870. From 1876 to the early 1880s Sidney was the railhead for the Sidney–Black Hills Trail to Deadwood.

The county once stretched across most of the southern Panhandle. On November 6, 1888, voters carved Banner, Deuel, Kimball and Scotts Bluff counties from it, and Morrill County followed in 1908. The Kinkaid homestead boom after 1904 filled the tableland with wheat farms, and the Burlington built north from Sidney through Huntsman, Gurley and Dalton and south to Lorenzo. In 1942 the Army opened the Sioux Ordnance Depot northwest of Sidney; oil was found near Gurley in 1949, and the population peaked at 14,828 in 1960. Cabela's grew from a Chappell mail-order business into a national outfitter headquartered in Sidney until 2017.

Towns of Cheyenne County

Travel Corridors

I-80 — across the county, with exits at Potter (38), Brownson (48), west Sidney and NE 19 (55), Sidney, US 385 and Cabela's (59), Sunol (69) and Lodgepole (76). I-80 Corridor →

US 30 — the Lincoln Highway, along the Union Pacific through Potter, Brownson, Sidney, Colton, Sunol and Lodgepole. US 30 Corridor →

Other highways — US 385, the Gold Rush Byway, runs with US 30 from Chappell to Sidney, then north through Huntsman, Gurley and Dalton to Bridgeport; NE 19 runs south from Sidney through Lorenzo to the Colorado line.

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

Things to See

In Sidney, the Fort Sidney Museum and Post Commander's Home, Boot Hill, Camp Lookout, the Carnegie library and historic downtown, Deadwood Draw on the old Black Hills trail and the Cabela's flagship store. In Potter, the Potter Sundry, home of the Tin Roof Sundae, duckpin lanes and the depot museum. In Lodgepole, the depot museum and the 1911 opera house; in Dalton, the Prairie Schooner and Log Cabin Museum. Historical markers stand at the I-80 westbound rest area near Sidney, at the Pole Creek Pony Express station site, near Brownson for the Sioux Army Depot and south of Gurley for the first oil well. The county has 11 National Register listings.

Outdoors

Cheyenne County has no state park. Sidney has Legion Park, with trails, a fishing pond and the city aquatic center, and the 18-hole Hillside Golf Course. RV sites: Cabela's RV Park in Sidney and the Point of Rocks Motel & RV Park near Potter. Sullivan Hills Camp north of Lodgepole has a lake and ropes course for camps and groups.

Cheyenne County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Sidney · Potter · Lodgepole · Dalton · Gurley · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Morrill County (north) · Garden County (northeast) · Deuel County (east) · Sedgwick County, Colorado (southeast) · Logan County, Colorado (south) · Kimball County (west) · Banner County (northwest).

Events

Each year: Gold Rush Days in Sidney in June, the Potter CarBowl in late June, the Cheyenne County Fair and Rodeo in Sidney in July, Potter Days and Lodgepole Old Settlers Days on Labor Day weekend, and Sidney Oktoberfest on the first full weekend of October.

Cheyenne County at a Glance

Cheyenne County, Nebraska — the southern Panhandle along Lodgepole Creek and I-80. County seat Sidney; Mountain Time.

Getting there: I-80 and US 30 across the county; US 385 north to Bridgeport and east to Chappell; NE 19 south toward Sterling, Colorado.

For visitors: Fort Sidney, Boot Hill and the Cabela's flagship store in Sidney; the Potter Sundry and duckpin lanes; depot museums in Potter and Lodgepole. Hospital: Sidney Regional Medical Center.