Editing Merrick County, Nebraska

{{Short description|County in Nebraska, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                            = Merrick County
| official_name                   = County of Merrick
| settlement_type                 = [[County (United States)|County]]
| image_skyline                   = Merrick County Courthouse 7.jpg
| image_caption                   = [[Merrick County Courthouse]] in Central City
| image_map                       = {{Maplink|zoom=8|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-width=250|frame-align=center|type=shape|fill=#ffffff|fill-opacity=0|stroke-width=3}}
| map_caption                     = Interactive map of Merrick County
| image_map1                      = Map of Nebraska highlighting Merrick County.svg
| map_caption1                    = Location within the U.S. state of Nebraska
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = {{nowrap|{{US}}}}
| subdivision_type1               = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1               = {{flag|Nebraska}}
| established_title               = Established
| established_date                = November 4, 1858
| established_title1              = Organized
| established_date1               = April 18, 1864
| named_for                       = Elvira Merrick
| seat_type                       = [[County seat]]
| seat                            = [[Central City, Nebraska|Central City]]
| parts_type                      = Largest city
| parts                           = Central City
| unit_pref                       = US
| area_total_sq_mi                = 494
| area_land_sq_mi                 = 485
| area_water_sq_mi                = 9.6
| area_water_percent              = 1.9
| elevation_max_ft                = 1880
| elevation_min_ft                = 1345
| population_density_sq_mi        = 16.3
| population_est                  = 7665
| pop_est_as_of                   = 2021<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021">{{cite web |title=County Population Totals: 2020-2021 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=US Census Bureau |access-date=October 31, 2022}}</ref>
| area_code                       = [[Area code 308|308]]
| area_code_type                  = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
| blank_name_sec1                 = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS]] code
| blank_info_sec1                 = 31121
| blank1_name_sec1                = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info_sec1                = {{GNIS 4|835882}}
| website                         = [http://www.merrickcounty.ne.gov/ merrickcounty.ne.gov]
| timezone                        = [[Central Time Zone|Central]]
| utc_offset                      = &minus;6
| timezone_DST                    = [[Central Time Zone|CDT]]
| utc_offset_DST                  = &minus;5
}}
[[File:MerrickCounty.png|thumb|A map of Merrick County, Nebraska]]
'''Merrick County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Nebraska]]. As of the [[2020 United States census]], the population was 7,668.<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/> Its [[county seat]] is [[Central City, Nebraska|Central City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=7 June 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref>

Merrick County is part of the [[Grand Island, Nebraska|Grand Island]], NE [[Grand Island metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]].

In the [[Vehicle registration plates of Nebraska|Nebraska license plate system]], Merrick County is represented by the prefix 46 (it had the 46th-largest number of vehicles registered in the state when the license plate system was established in 1922).

==History==
Merrick County was formed in 1858, and was organized in 1864.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=englishunsllc|title=Nebraska Place-Names|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Lilian Linder|publisher=University of Nebraska Studies in Language, Literature, and Criticism|location=Lincoln|date=1925|page=102|access-date=December 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/reports/merrick_county.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116020122/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/reports/merrick_county.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 16, 2006|title=Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey Reconnaissance Survey Final Report of Merrick County, Nebraska|publisher=Nebraska State Historical Society|date=August 1, 1992|access-date=December 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/merrick/merrick-p1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030508231755/http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/merrick/merrick-p1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2003-05-08|title=Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska|last=Andreas|first=A. T.|date=1882|website=The Kansas Collection|access-date=December 19, 2014}}</ref> It was named for Elvira Merrick, the maiden name of the wife of territorial legislator [[Henry W. DePuy]], who introduced the bill that created the county.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/Maps_Atlas/nebplacenames/placename6.html#merrick|title=Nebraska Place Names (1925)|work= NEGenWeb Project|access-date=8 January 2015}}</ref>

When first formed, the county was bounded on the south by the [[Platte River]], and by straight lines on the north, east, and west; enclosing {{convert|180|mi2|km2}} of the [[Pawnee Reservation]], which had been established in 1857. In 1873, the state legislature removed these reservation lands from the county, leaving it with a jagged northern border from which narrow panhandles extended northward from the northeast and northwest corners. In 1897, the Pawnee Reservation became [[Nance County, Nebraska|Nance County]].<ref>[http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/merrick/olres/mcf100y/pages/mcfp0001.html "Merrick County's 100th Year: 1858-1958".]{{dead link|date=January 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} NEGenWeb Project. Retrieved 28 December 2009.</ref>

==Geography==
The terrain of Merrick County is low rolling plains, sloping to the east and northeast. Most of the area is under cultivation. The [[Platte River]] flows northeastward along the southeast border line of the county. A smaller drainage, Prairie Creek, parallels the river, flowing northeastward through the center of the county before discharging into the Platte River northeast of Merrick County.<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Merrick+County,+NE/@41.3271251,-97.8317663,15.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x879a04f2f9335a33:0x873749161fcf4c6f!8m2!3d41.2031926!4d-98.0028892 ''Merrick County NE'' Google Maps (accessed 23 January 2019)]</ref> The county has an area of {{convert|494|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|485|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|9.6|sqmi}} (1.9%) is water.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_31.txt|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=December 9, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113024152/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_31.txt|archive-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref>

===Major highways===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[File:US 30.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 30 in Nebraska|U.S. Highway 30]]
* [[File:N-14.svg|20px]] [[Nebraska Highway 14]]
* [[File:N-22.svg|20px]] [[Nebraska Highway 22]]
* [[File:N-39.svg|20px]] [[Nebraska Highway 39]]
* [[File:N-92.svg|20px]] [[Nebraska Highway 92]]
{{div col end}}

===Adjacent counties===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Platte County, Nebraska|Platte County]] – northeast
* [[Polk County, Nebraska|Polk County]] – east
* [[Hamilton County, Nebraska|Hamilton County]] – south
* [[Hall County, Nebraska|Hall County]] – southwest
* [[Howard County, Nebraska|Howard County]] – west
* [[Nance County, Nebraska|Nance County]] – north
{{div col end}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1860= 109
|1870= 557
|1880= 5341
|1890= 8758
|1900= 9255
|1910= 10379
|1920= 10763
|1930= 10619
|1940= 9354
|1950= 8812
|1960= 8363
|1970= 8751
|1980= 8945
|1990= 8049
|2000= 8204
|2010= 7845
|2020= 7668
|estyear=2021
|estimate=7665
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=US Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=US Decennial Census|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=December 9, 2014}}</ref><br>1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=December 9, 2014}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{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 9, 2014}}</ref><br>1990-2000<ref>{{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=2010-03-27 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=December 9, 2014}}</ref> 2010-2013<ref name=QF>{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/31/31121.html|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=September 21, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607151314/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/31/31121.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref>
}}

As of the [[2000 United States Census]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=31 January 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> there were 8,204 people, 3,209 households, and 2,307 families in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|17|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. There were 3,649 housing units at an average density of {{convert|8|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 98.32% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.22% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.10% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.21% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.01% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.67% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.48% from two or more races. 2.05% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 3,209 households, out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.10% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.99.

The county population contained 27.50% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 17.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,961, and the median income for a family was $39,729. Males had a median income of $26,998 versus $19,828 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $15,958. About 7.00% of families and 8.90% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 9.70% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.

==Communities==
===City===
* [[Central City, Nebraska|Central City]] (county seat)

===Villages===
* [[Chapman, Nebraska|Chapman]]
* [[Clarks, Nebraska|Clarks]]
* [[Palmer, Nebraska|Palmer]]
* [[Silver Creek, Nebraska|Silver Creek]]

===Census-designated place===
* [[Archer, Nebraska|Archer]]

===Unincorporated communities===
{{div col}}
* [[Havens, Nebraska|Havens]]
* [[Lockwood, Nebraska|Lockwood]]
* [[Paddock, Merrick County, Nebraska|Paddock]]
* [[Worms, Nebraska|Worms]]
{{div col end}}

===Townships===
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Central Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Central]]
* [[Chapman Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Chapman]]
* [[Clarksville Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Clarksville]]
* [[Lone Tree Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Lone Tree]]
* [[Loup Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Loup]]
* [[Mead Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Mead]]
* [[Midland Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Midland]]
* [[Prairie Creek Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Prairie Creek]]
* [[Prairie Island Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Prairie Island]]
* [[Silver Creek Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Silver Creek]]
* [[Vieregg Township, Merrick County, Nebraska|Vieregg]]
{{div col end}}

==Politics==
Merrick County voters have been strongly Republican for decades. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).
{{PresHead|place=Merrick County, Nebraska|whig=no|source1=<ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS Election Results]</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP/Whig vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|3,551|730|87|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|3,419|743|120|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|2,926|602|260|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|2,490|925|74|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|2,375|986|70|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|2,771|833|53|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|2,380|848|112|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|2,084|997|471|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|1,854|864|1,093|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|2,376|1,192|24|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|2,700|818|28|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|2,710|712|272|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|2,229|1,360|113|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,418|887|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|2,031|840|212|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|1,798|1,741|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|2,744|1,234|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|2,857|1,126|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|3,288|965|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|2,074|1,267|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|2,691|1,390|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|2,886|1,466|0|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|2,367|2,401|119|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|1,698|2,881|117|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|3,269|1,403|27|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|2,324|1,137|816|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|2,385|1,075|203|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|1,178|1,349|101|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|526|950|845|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|1,133|1,081|201|Nebraska}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|1,275|400|412|Nebraska}}
{{PresFoot|1900|Republican|1,212|996|110|Nebraska}}

==See also==
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Merrick County, Nebraska]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Geographic Location
| Centre    = Merrick County, Nebraska
| North     = [[Nance County, Nebraska|Nance County]]
| Northeast = [[Platte County, Nebraska|Platte County]]
| East      = [[Polk County, Nebraska|Polk County]]
| South     = [[Hamilton County, Nebraska|Hamilton County]]
| Southwest = [[Hall County, Nebraska|Hall County]]
| West      = [[Howard County, Nebraska|Howard County]]
}}

{{Commons category}}
{{Merrick County, Nebraska}}
{{Nebraska}}

{{coord|41.17|-98.03|type:adm2nd_region:US-NE_source:UScensus1990|display=title}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Merrick County, Nebraska| ]]
[[Category:Grand Island micropolitan area]]
[[Category:1864 establishments in Nebraska Territory]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1864]]
[[Category:Nebraska counties]]