Nance County, Nebraska

Nance County, Nebraska

County seat: Fullerton · Created: 1879 from the former Pawnee Reservation; organized June 21, 1879 · Named for: Gov. Albinus Nance · License plates: prefix 58 · Population: 3,380 (2020 census); peak 8,926 in 1910 · Area: 448 sq mi · Time zone: Central

About Nance County

Nance County lies along the Loup River in east-central Nebraska, where the Cedar River joins the Loup at Fullerton and the Loup Power Canal takes water from the river between Fullerton and Genoa. It has two cities, Fullerton, the county seat, and Genoa; the village of Belgrade; and the small communities of Krakow and Merchiston. The county borders Boone County on the north, Platte on the northeast, Merrick on the south and Greeley on the west.

The whole county was once the Pawnee Reservation, set aside in the 1857 treaty when the Pawnee ceded the rest of their lands. Mormon pioneers settled Genoa in 1857 and left in 1859 when it became the Pawnee agency. The Pawnee were removed to Indian Territory in 1874–75; an 1876 act put the reservation up for sale, and land sales began at Central City in July 1878, so nearly all the county’s land was bought rather than homesteaded. The Legislature created the county in 1879, naming it for Gov. Albinus Nance, and Fullerton won the seat that year after a disputed election with Genoa. From 1884 to 1934 Genoa was home to the U.S. Indian Industrial School, the only federal off-reservation Indian boarding school in Nebraska. The Union Pacific reached Genoa in 1879 and built its Cedar Rapids branch through Fullerton and Belgrade in the 1880s. The county peaked at 8,926 people in 1910.

Towns of Nance County

Travel Corridors

NE 14 — north–south from Central City through Fullerton to Albion. Highway 14 Corridor →

NE 22 runs east–west along the north side of the Loup from Fullerton past Headworks Park to Genoa, Monroe and Columbus; NE 39 runs from Silver Creek through Genoa to St. Edward; and NE 52 begins north of Fullerton and runs through Belgrade to Cedar Rapids. No US highway or Interstate crosses the county; US 30 is just south at Silver Creek and Central City.

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

Things to See

The Genoa Indian School Interpretive Center and the National Register school buildings; the Genoa Historical Museum and the Pawnee and Mormon markers in Genoa City Park; the Nance County Historical Society Museum in a 1900 church in Fullerton; and Broken Arrow Wilderness, the old Fullerton Chautauqua grounds on the Cedar River.

Outdoors

Nance County has no state park or state recreation area; its public land is Loup Power District ground and four wildlife management areas near Genoa: Don Dworak (932 acres, a mile south of Genoa on NE 39), Loup Public Power District WMA (about 490 acres along the Loup near the canal headgates), Council Creek and Sunny Hollow (160 acres each). Headworks Park, about 6 miles west of Genoa on NE 22, has free camping with electric hookups from May 1 to November 1. Genoa City Park and Broken Arrow Wilderness at Fullerton also have camping, and paddlers float the Cedar and Loup.

Nance County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Fullerton · Genoa · Belgrade · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Boone County (north) · Platte County (northeast) · Merrick County (south) · Greeley County (west).

Events

Each year: the Nance County Fair at Fullerton in mid-July (its 100th year was 2019), and the Genoa U.S. Indian School Recognition and Remembrance Day in late September.

Nance County at a Glance

Nance County, Nebraska — the Loup River valley and the former Pawnee Reservation. County seat Fullerton. 88 listings across 5 towns. Central Time.

Getting there: NE 14 north–south through Fullerton; NE 22 along the Loup from Fullerton to Genoa; NE 39 through Genoa; NE 52 through Belgrade.

For visitors: the Genoa Indian School Interpretive Center, Genoa’s museums and markers, Broken Arrow Wilderness, Headworks Park camping and the WMAs around Genoa. Hospital: Genoa Community Hospital.