Gering, the Scotts Bluff County seat, was founded March 7, 1887 by a corporation led by Oscar Gardner of Broken Bow and named for Martin Gering, a pioneer merchant who partnered with Gardner in the area's first dry goods store. The Union Pacific Railroad platted the town in 1887 but didn't lay track there until 1910; Gering became county seat in November 1888 when Scotts Bluff County was carved out of Cheyenne County.

Sitting at the base of Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering had a 2020 population of 8,564 and hosts Oregon Trail Days, Nebraska's oldest continuous annual celebration, along with the Legacy of the Plains Museum and Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area. Notable residents include Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011, and U.S. Representative Adrian Smith.