About Our County
Interesting Facts
- Pierce County was founded in 1859 and is named after Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States.
- The county seat and largest city is Pierce, Nebraska.
- The county covers approximately 575 square miles, with over 99% land area.
- As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Pierce County has a population of 7,317 residents.
- Pierce County is part of the Norfolk, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area.
- The county’s landscape consists primarily of rolling hills and agricultural land, with the North Fork of the Elkhorn River flowing through the area.
- Agriculture plays a major role in the local economy, with much of the land used for crop production and livestock.
History
- Pierce County was officially created by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature in 1859 following early government surveys.
- Early settlers included German Lutheran immigrants who traveled west from Wisconsin, helping establish agriculture and early communities.
- The county and its seat, Pierce, were both named in honor of President Franklin Pierce.
- In 1875, Pierce County’s northern boundary was altered through legislative action, acquiring land from Cedar County and creating the county’s modern shape.
- The City of Pierce was platted in 1871, shortly after the establishment of the county.
- Pierce County’s first courthouse was built in 1871, with later expansions reflecting county growth.
- Railroads played a significant role in the county’s development by improving transportation, trade, and taxation revenue in the late 19th century.
In 1859 the present Pierce county was created by Territorial Legislation. The county and Pierce City, the county seat, were named after Franklin Pierce, who was inaugurated in 1853, the fourteenth president of the United States.
Originally Pierce county contained fifteen townships, there being a jog in the northeast corner, but on February 5, 1875, Pierce county pulled a trick on Cedar county. It happened so very long ago very few, if any, old timers remember it.
In those far-off days Cedar county’s southern boundary was a straight line, while Pierce county’s northern boundary line dipped six miles south and then six miles east on the eastern side. One bright morning, Cedar county awoke to discover that the legistlature had amputated the southeast township and transplanted it on Pierce county. Cedar county’s representative in the legislature had never heard a word about it until the job was done.
In this way Pierce county straightened her northern boundary and Cedar county acquired a jog in her southern boundary. The part of the town of Randolph in Cedar county that extends over the line in Pierce county was nicknamed “Dog Town” and still bears that name. In addition to acquiring a whole township without cost, Pierce County acquired several miles of railroad for taxation purposes.
Two years later the Pierce county representative, together with representatives from other counties, fixed it so no county could acquire any portion of another county without the consent of both counties, so Cedar County was stopped from getting that township back.
