Cherry County, Nebraska

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Cherry County

| state = Nebraska

| seal =

| founded = 1883

| seat wl = Valentine

| largest city = Valentine

| area_total_sq_mi = 6009

| area_land_sq_mi = 5960

| area_water_sq_mi = 49

| area percentage = 0.8%

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 5455

| pop_est_as_of = 2023

| population_est = 5492 {{gain}}

| density_sq_mi = auto

| web = www.co.cherry.ne.us

| ex image = Cherry County, Nebraska courthouse from NE 1.JPG

| ex image cap = Cherry County Courthouse in Valentine

| district = 3rd

| time zone 1 = Central

| tz note 1 = Eastern part of county

| time zone 2 = Mountain

| tz note 2 = Western part of county

| named for = Samuel A. Cherry }}

File:Cherry County Nebraska 1885 map 2719114.jpg

File:Cherry County Nebraska 1919 map.jpg

File:Nebrask- 2010 - cph-2-29.jpg

Cherry County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 5,455.{{cite web|title=Cherry County, Nebraska Profile|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Cherry_County,_Nebraska?g=0500000US31031|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=January 20, 2023}} Its county seat is Valentine.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503072804/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|archive-date=May 3, 2015}} The county was named for Lt. Samuel A. Cherry, an Army officer who was stationed at Fort Niobrara and was killed in South Dakota in 1881.[http://www.nacone.org/webpages/counties/countywebs/cherry.htm Cherry County] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308082037/http://www.nacone.org/webpages/counties/countywebs/cherry.htm |date=March 8, 2008}}, Nebraska Association of County Officials, 2004. Accessed April 30, 2008. Cherry County is in the Nebraska Sandhills. It is the state's largest county, at nearly {{convert|6,000|mi2|km2}}, larger than three states, Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut. In the Nebraska license plate system, Cherry County is represented by the prefix 66 (it had the 66th-most vehicles registered in the state when the system was established in 1922).

Geography

Cherry County lies on the north side of Nebraska. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of South Dakota. According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of {{convert|6009|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|5960|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|49|sqmi}} (0.8%) is water.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_31.txt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113024152/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_31.txt |url-status=dead|archive-date=November 13, 2013|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=December 6, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}} It is by far Nebraska's largest county in land area and larger than the state of Connecticut, or the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1Szc2W2w0YC&pg=PA313|title=Nebraska, a Guide to the Cornhusker State|publisher=WPA|author=Federal Writers Project|year=1939|page=313|isbn=9781623760267}} The county is in Nebraska's Sandhills region; the dunes that give the region its name are a result of the most recent glacial period, the Pinedale glaciation. During the Holocene glacial retreat, the dunes, which had been deposited by the vast continental glaciers, were exposed, and grasses eventually took over.

=Major highways=

=National protected areas=

=State protected areas=

=Adjacent counties=

Nebraska's largest county by area, Cherry County borders 11 counties, more than any other county in Nebraska. Seven of them are in Nebraska and four in South Dakota. The adjacent counties are:

Bennett County, South Dakota – north
Todd County, South Dakota – north
Tripp County, South Dakota – northeast
Brown County – east
Keya Paha County – east
Blaine County – southeast
Grant County – south
Thomas County – south
Hooker County – south
Sheridan County – west
Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota – northwest

Demographics

{{US Census population

| 1890 = 6428

| 1900 = 6541

| 1910 = 10414

| 1920 = 11753

| 1930 = 10898

| 1940 = 9637

| 1950 = 8397

| 1960 = 8218

| 1970 = 6846

| 1980 = 6758

| 1990 = 6307

| 2000 = 6148

| 2010 = 5713

| 2020 = 5455

| 2020n =

| estyear = 2023

| estimate = 5492

| align-fn = center

| footnote = US Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=US Decennial Census|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=December 6, 2014}}
1790-1960{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=December 6, 2014|archive-date=August 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811110448/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/|url-status=dead}} 1900-1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ne190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=December 6, 2014}}
1990-2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=December 6, 2014}} 2010-2013{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cherrycountynebraska/PST045222 |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Cherry County, Nebraska }} 2020-2023

}}

As of the 2000 United States Census,{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}} there were 6,148 people, 2,508 households, and 1,710 families in the county. The population density was {{convert|1.02|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|}}. There were 3,220 housing units at an average density of {{convert|0|/mi2|/km2|adj=pre|units }}. The racial makeup of the county was 94.19% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 3.25% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.5% were of German, 12.6% English, 11.1% Irish and 7.3% American ancestry.

There were 2,508 households, out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.98.

The county population contained 27.00% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,268, and the median income for a family was $36,500. Males had a median income of $23,705 versus $17,277 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,943. About 9.60% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.40% of those under age 18 and 14.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

=City=

Valentine (county seat)

=Villages=

=Census-designated place=

Brownlee

=Other unincorporated communities=

DeWitty
Elsmere
Sparks
Thatcher

[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Thatcher,+NE+69201/@42.8061145,-100.4749969,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x8779b72c41f2aafb:0x389f0726ef32539a!2sCherry+County,+NE!3b1!8m2!3d42.474114!4d-101.1617356!3m4!1s0x87827b19366e7fa1:0x12aa6f666470185b!8m2!3d42.8062325!4d-100.4661942 Thatcher NE Google Maps (accessed 17 January 2019)]

Barley

=Notable ranches=

Abbott Ranch[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Abbott+Ranch/@42.550187,-101.7139834,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x87799f8befd93631:0x68375bb3d37cdf43!8m2!3d42.550187!4d-101.7117947 Abbott Ranch NE Google Maps (accessed 17 January 2019)]
Bowring Ranch
Spade Ranch
Sunny Slope Ranch

Time zones

Cherry County residents observe two time zones, Central and Mountain. The eastern third of the county, including county seat Valentine, is in the Central Time Zone, while the western two thirds, including Merriman, are in the Mountain Time Zone.{{Cite web|url=http://www.timetemperature.com/tzus/nebraska_time_zone.shtml|title=Nebraska Time Zone|website=www.timetemperature.com|access-date=January 20, 2017}}

Politics

Cherry County voters are reliably Republican. The county has not voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 landslide, and even then, the county was decided by less than four points. Republicans have carried the county by a double-digit margin in every presidential election since, and no Democratic nominee since Harry S. Truman in 1948 has even mustered 40% of the vote. Republicans also hold a massive advantage in voter registration in Cherry County, with 2,947, as opposed to 325 registered Democrats.{{Cite web |date=August 1, 2023 |title=VR Statistics Count Report |url=https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/sos.nebraska.gov/files/doc/elections/vrstats/2023VR/Statewide-August-2023.pdf |website=Nebraska Secretary of State}}

{{PresHead|place=Cherry County, Nebraska|whig=no|source1=[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS Election Results]}}