York County, Nebraska

York County, Nebraska

County seat: York · Created: March 16, 1855; organized April 26, 1870 · Named for: York, England, or York County, Pennsylvania (sources disagree) · License plates: prefix 17 · Population: 14,125 (2020 census); peak 18,721 in 1910 · Area: 576 sq mi · Time zone: Central

About York County

York County is rolling farm country on the plains of east-central Nebraska, drained by Beaver Creek, the West Blue and the Big Blue, with Rainwater Basin wetlands scattered across it. York, the county seat, sits where I-80 meets US 81. Henderson, the county’s other city, is the center of its Mennonite community; the villages are McCool Junction, Waco, Bradshaw, Gresham, Benedict, Thayer and Lushton, and Charlestown and Houston are ghost towns. The county borders Polk County on the north, Butler at the northeast corner, Seward on the east, Saline at the southeast corner, Fillmore on the south, Clay at the southwest corner and Hamilton on the west.

The county was created in 1855 and organized at an election on April 26, 1870, that made York the county seat. The Burlington reached York in 1877, and in 1886–87 the Kansas City & Omaha and the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley added new towns across the county. In 1874 thirty-five Mennonite families from South Russia settled around what became Henderson, bringing Turkey Red winter wheat. A tornado destroyed Bradshaw in 1890, and the F5 of May 5, 1964 — the last recorded in Nebraska — crossed the west of the county. The population peaked at 18,721 in 1910 and stood at about 14,560 in 2025.

Towns of York County

Travel Corridors

I-80 crosses the middle of the county with exits 342 (Henderson), 348 (Bradshaw), 353 (US 81, York) and 360 (Waco). I-80 Corridor → US 81 runs north–south through York, Benedict and McCool Junction. US 34 runs east–west through Bradshaw, York and past Waco. US 34 Corridor → NE 69 runs north from US 34 near Waco through Gresham.

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

Things to See

In York: the Wessels Living History Farm south of I-80; the Clayton Museum of Ancient History at York University; the Anna Bemis Palmer Museum; the 1940 Art Deco City Auditorium, home of the York Area Children’s Museum; and the old library and York Subway, both on the National Register. In Henderson: the Henderson Mennonite Heritage Park. Also on the National Register: Clem’s Opera House in Gresham, the Bradshaw Town Hall, the Jeffery Farmstead near Benedict and the “Crossing the Plains” sculpture at the I-80 westbound rest area.

Parks and Outdoors

The Upper Big Blue NRD’s Bruce L. Anderson Recreation Area at Recharge Lake in York has a 44-acre lake, camping from mid-April through October, a boat ramp, trails and an archery range. Six state wildlife management areas lie in the county’s Rainwater Basin wetlands: Hidden Marsh, Kirkpatrick Basin North and South, Marsh Duck, Renquist and Spikerush. Golf: York Country Club and Galaway Creek in Henderson. Camping also at Prairie Oasis (Henderson) and Double Nickel (Waco). There is no state park in the county.

York County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: York · Henderson · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Polk County (north) · Butler County (northeast corner) · Seward County (east) · Saline County (southeast corner) · Fillmore County (south) · Clay County (southwest corner) · Hamilton County (west).

Events

The York County Fair is held in August, Yorkfest fills downtown York in September, Henderson’s Heritage Day comes on the second Saturday of September (September 12 in 2026), and McCool Junction’s Mustang Round Up is held in September.

York County at a Glance

York County, Nebraska — created March 16, 1855, and organized April 26, 1870. Sources disagree on the name: some credit York, England, others settlers from York County, Pennsylvania. County seat York. Population 14,125 in 2020 and about 14,560 in 2025, below its 1910 peak of 18,721. 310 listings across 11 towns.

This is Mennonite country. Thirty-five families from South Russia came in 1874, about eighty by 1878, settling on railroad land around what became Henderson; they brought Turkey Red hard winter wheat, the variety that remade farming on the Great Plains, and most of Henderson still descends from them. The Henderson Mennonite Heritage Park keeps the story.

Getting there: I-80 and US 81 cross at York, Exit 353; US 34 runs east–west through York and NE 69 north through Gresham. Central Time.

For visitors: Wessels Living History Farm, the Clayton Museum of Ancient History, Recharge Lake and Yorkfest in York; the Mennonite Heritage Park in Henderson; Junction Motor Speedway at McCool Junction. Born in York: silent-film director Fred Niblo, Congressman Doug Bereuter and NFL punter Sam Koch; jockey David Erb, who won the 1956 Kentucky Derby, grew up on a farm near York.