Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of 2000, the population was 18,780. Its county seat is Blair. It is one of five Nebraska counties in the eight-county Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In the Nebraska license plate system, Washington County is represented by the prefix 29 (it had the twenty-ninth largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

Washington County is located in eastern Nebraska on the Missouri River. It was explored as early as 1739 by Paul and Pierre Malleet, who were on a trapping expedition to Canada. In 1804, Lewis and Clark reported the establishment of the new United States Government to a Council of Indian chiefs near the present site of Fort Calhoun. As a result of this Council, Fort Atkinson was established in 1819 and served as a key midwestern outpost until its abandonment in 1827.

The first permanent settlement in Washington County was made in 1854. In that same year, the county was organized as one of the eight original counties proclaimed by acting Governor Thomas B. Cuming. The county seat has been located in three different towns: Fort Calhoun, DeSoto, and finally at Blair, its present site since 1869.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 394 square miles (1,020 km²), of which, 390 square miles (1,011 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (8 km²) of it (0.83%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Burt County, Nebraska - north
• Harrison County, Iowa - northeast
• Pottawattamie County, Iowa - southeast
• Douglas County, Nebraska - south
• Dodge County, Nebraska - west

Demographics

Washington County Population by decade

1860 - 1,249 1870 - 4,452 1880 - 8,631 1890 - 11,869 1900 - 13,086 1910 - 12,738 1920 - 12,180 1930 - 12,095 1940 - 11,578 1950 - 11,511 1960 - 12,103 1970 - 13,310 1980 - 15,508 1990 - 16,607 2000 - 18,780

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,780 people, 6,940 households, and 5,149 families residing in the county. The population density was 48 people per square mile (19/km²). There were 7,408 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.12% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.1% were of German, 11.9% Danish, 9.0% Irish, 7.8% American and 7.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 6,940 households out of which 36.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.00% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.80% were non-families. 21.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.10% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,500, and the median income for a family was $56,429. Males had a median income of $36,901 versus $25,893 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,055. About 4.10% of families and 6.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.00% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and villages

• Arlington village
• Blair city
• De Soto (unincorporated)
• Fontanelle (unincorporated)
• Fort Calhoun city
• Herman village
• Kennard village
• Nashville (unincorporated)
• Orum (unincorporated)
• Telbasta (unincorporated)
• Washington village

Townships

• Township 1
• Township 2
• Township 5
• Township 6
• Township 7

References