Richardson County, Nebraska facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richardson County
U.S. county
Richardson County Courthouse in Falls City
Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Nebraska
Founded	1854 (founded) 1855 (re-authorized)
Named for	William Alexander Richardson
Seat	Falls City
Largest city	Falls City
Area
• Total	555 sq mi (1,440 km2)
• Land	552 sq mi (1,430 km2)
• Water	2.7 sq mi (7 km2)  0.5%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,871
• Density	14.182/sq mi (5.476/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Richardson County is the easternmost county in the state of Nebraska. It is located in the United States. In 2020, about 7,871 people lived here. The main town and county seat is Falls City.

If you look at Nebraska license plates, Richardson County has the number 19. This means it had the nineteenth-largest number of registered vehicles when the system started in 1922.

Some parts of the Ioway Reservation and the Sac and Fox Reservation are in the southeast corner of the county. These areas are between Falls City, Rulo, and Hiawatha, Kansas. The small village of Preston, Nebraska is located inside the Sac and Fox Reservation.

History of Richardson County

The area that is now Nebraska was opened for settlement on May 30, 1854. This happened because of a law called the Kansas–Nebraska Act. Richardson County was created in the same year. It was officially set up again in 1855 by the first group of lawmakers for the Nebraska Territory.

The county was named after William A. Richardson. He was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. He helped create the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Later, in 1858, he became the governor of the Nebraska Territory.

The first building used as a courthouse was built in 1863. A second courthouse was built in 1873. Sadly, it burned down on May 7, 1919.

On May 30, 1879, a very strong tornado passed through Richardson County. This tornado was called the "Irving, Kansas Tornado." It was an F4 tornado on the Fujita scale, which measures how strong tornadoes are. The tornado's path was about 800 yards (730 meters) wide and 100 miles (160 kilometers) long. This storm caused the deaths of eighteen people and injured sixty others.

In the summer of 1966, a plane crash happened near Falls City. It was Braniff Airlines Flight 250. The plane crashed because of bad weather. All 42 people on board died. The aircraft was flying from Kansas City to Omaha. This happened on Saturday night, August 6, 1966.

Geography of Richardson County

Richardson County is located at the very southeast tip of Nebraska. Its eastern border is next to the state of Missouri, across the Missouri River. Its southern border is next to the state of Kansas.

Many small rivers and streams flow through the county. These are branches of the Big Nemaha River. They flow southeast and empty into the Missouri River at the county's southeast corner. The land in the county has rolling hills. It slopes down towards the southeast. Most of the county's land is used for farming. The Missouri River in Richardson County is the lowest point in the entire state of Nebraska. This is where the river leaves Nebraska and goes into Kansas and Missouri.

The county covers a total area of 555 square miles (1,437 square kilometers). About 552 square miles (1,429 square kilometers) is land. Only 2.7 square miles (7.0 square kilometers), or 0.5%, is water.

Main Roads

Several important roads go through Richardson County. These include U.S. Highway 73 () and U.S. Highway 75 (), which run north and south. U.S. Highway 159 () goes east towards the Rulo Bridge, connecting to Missouri. Nebraska Highway 8 () runs west along Nebraska's southern border. Other state highways connect smaller towns in the area.

Protected Natural Areas

Richardson County has several protected areas where nature is preserved. These places are great for outdoor activities like hiking, fishing, and enjoying wildlife.

Neighboring Counties

Richardson County shares its borders with several other counties:

People of Richardson County

In 2000, there were 9,531 people living in Richardson County. There were 3,993 households, which are groups of people living together. About 2,567 of these were families. The population density was about 17 people per square mile (6.6 people per square kilometer).

Most people in the county were White (95.65%). There were also Native American (2.32%), Black or African American (0.19%), and Asian (0.15%) people. Some people were of two or more races (1.48%). About 1.05% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

About 29.50% of households had children under 18 living with them. Most households (53.40%) were married couples. About 32.20% of all households were individuals living alone. Many people aged 65 or older (17.70%) lived by themselves.

The average age of people in the county was 41 years old. About 25.50% of the population was under 18. About 21.50% were 65 years or older. For every 100 females, there were about 93.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,884 per year. For families, the median income was $39,779. The average income per person in the county was $16,460. About 10.10% of the population lived below the poverty line. This included 10.50% of children under 18 and 11.50% of people aged 65 or older.

Communities in Richardson County

Richardson County has several towns and villages where people live.

Cities

• Falls City (This is the main town and the county seat)
• Humboldt

Villages

Unincorporated Communities

These are smaller communities that are not officially organized as cities or villages.

• Nim City
• Strausville

Former Communities

These are places that used to be communities but are no longer active or recognized as such.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Richardson para niños