Editing Seneca, Nebraska

{{short description|Unincorporated community in Blaine County, Nebraska, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Seneca, Nebraska
|settlement_type          = [[unincorporated area#United States|unincorporated community]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Seneca, Nebraska from SE 2.JPG
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = Seneca seen from the southeast, across the [[Loup River|Middle Loup River]]
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|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map = Thomas_County_Nebraska_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Seneca_Highlighted.svg
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|map_caption              = Location of Seneca, Nebraska
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<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Nebraska]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Nebraska|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Thomas County, Nebraska|Thomas]]
|government_footnotes     = 
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<!-- Area -->
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|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 0.76
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|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.29
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<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_est           = 
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|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 49
|population_density_km2   = 64.09
|population_density_sq_mi = 166.10

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
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|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 2969
|coordinates              = {{coord|42|02|38|N|100|49|55|W|region:US-NE|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 69161
|area_code                = [[Area code 308|308]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 31-44385<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2784110<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2784110}}</ref>
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'''Seneca''' is an [[unincorporated area#United States|unincorporated community]] in [[Thomas County, Nebraska|Thomas County]], [[Nebraska]] in the [[Great Plains]] region of the United States. The population was 33 at the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]].

Seneca was established on the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]] in 1888.  The location of a division point on the railroad, it was for some years the largest settlement in Thomas County.  The population dwindled following the closing of the railroad roundhouse. In 2014, after a dispute on the village board, the residents voted to disincorporate the village.

==History==
The [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]] was constructed along the [[Loup River|Middle Loup River]] in the late 1880s. Construction was halted for the winter of 1887&ndash;88 in western [[Thomas County, Nebraska|Thomas County]], and the town of Seneca was established at that point in January 1888.<ref name=casde>Hanson, Sandy.  [http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/counties/thomas/seneca/index.php "Seneca--Thomas County".]  [http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/index.php Nebraska... Our Towns.]  Retrieved 2014-07-02.</ref><ref name=survey>Hugly, Christina, John Kay, David Anthone, and Robert Kay (1989).  {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061116020045/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/reports/thomas_county.pdf "Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey: Reconnaissance Survey Final Report of Thomas County, Nebraska".]}}  {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110307215553/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/index.shtml Nebraska State Historical Society.]}}  Retrieved 2014-07-02.</ref>

Seneca became a division point on the railroad, with a depot, [[rail yard]], and [[Railway roundhouse|roundhouse]], employing over 70 people.  Railroad operations brought a measure of prosperity to the town, and promoted its growth.  Between 1918 and 1923, the Potash Highway, running from [[Grand Island, Nebraska|Grand Island]] to [[Alliance, Nebraska|Alliance]], was constructed parallel to the Burlington's route; it ran through the center of Seneca.  The town boasted a number of retail businesses, including hotels, banks, a lumberyard, a railroad cafe, and an automobile dealership.  For some years, it was the largest municipality in Thomas County, reaching a peak population of 476 in 1920.<ref name=survey/><ref name=casde/><ref name=hwy>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040717090001/http://nebraskahistory.org/histpres/historic_highway_book-web.pdf ''Nebraska Historic Highway Survey''.]}}  {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110307215553/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/index.shtml Nebraska State Historical Society.]}}  Retrieved 2011-10-05.  pp. 87&ndash;99.</ref>

In 1926, the Potash Highway was reconfigured as [[Nebraska Highway 2]].  In the early 1940s, a re-alignment to reduce the number of railroad crossings shifted the highway to the south of Seneca.  The railroad moved its operations out of the town, eliminating jobs and causing the loss of population and the closing of additional businesses.<ref name=casde/><ref name=hwy/><ref name=rr>Sources differ on the dates on which railroad facilities in Seneca were closed.  According to {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061116020045/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/reports/thomas_county.pdf Hugley et al. (1989)]}}, "the railroad pulled out of the town in the [sic] 1922".  According to [http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/counties/thomas/seneca/index.php Hanson], the roundhouse closed "[n]ot long after the highway moved" (in the late 1940s), and "[i]n 1973, Seneca ceased being a crew-change point".</ref>

In about 2013, a dispute arose over the village board's passage of an ordinance prohibiting the keeping of horses in the town.  It gave rise to a petition to disincorporate Seneca. In May 2014, the residents voted 17&ndash;16 for disincorporation, and the village was dissolved by the Thomas County Board at the end of June 2014.<ref name=tiny>Hansen, Matthew.  [http://www.omaha.com/columnists/hansen/hansen-how-tiny-seneca-nebraska-torn-apart-by-bitterness-voted/article_feb222a2-9255-5c90-90c6-0eb61d141e00.html "Hansen: How tiny Seneca, Nebraska – torn apart by bitterness – voted itself out of existence".]  [http://www.omaha.com/ ''Omaha World-Herald''.]  2014-06-25.  Retrieved 2014-07-02.</ref><ref name=nobody>Hammel, Paul.  [http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/nobody-wins-here-tiny-village-of-seneca-ceases-to-exist/article_bf75e341-33e6-534b-bcbe-cc9cb4060f52.html "'Nobody wins here': Tiny village of Seneca ceases to exist — and the end comes with last-minute bitterness".]  [http://www.omaha.com/ ''Omaha World-Herald''.]  2014-07-02.  Retrieved 2014-07-02.</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the village has a total area of {{convert|0.13|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, all land.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2012-06-24|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|archivedate=2012-01-25}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population|align=left
|1920= 476
|1930= 272
|1940= 255
|1950= 219
|1960= 160
|1970= 111
|1980= 90
|1990= 78
|2000= 51
|2010= 33
|2020= 49
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 51 people, 26 households, and 17 families residing in the village. The population density was {{convert|422.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 52 housing units at an average density of {{convert|431.1|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 100.00% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]].

There were 26 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.47.

The median age in Seneca was 48 years: 19.6% of the residents were under the age of 18; 2.0% were aged from 18 to 24; 19.6% were between 25 and 44; 35.3% were from 45 to 64; and 23.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 75.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 64.0 males.

As of 2000, the median income for a household in the village was $20,833 and the median income for a family was $21,667. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $20,500 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $15,803. The village population included 12.1% who lived below the [[poverty line]]. That included 16.7% of the families and 23.1% of residents older than 64, but no one younger than 18.

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2012-06-24}}</ref> of 2010, there were 33 people, 21 households, and 10 families residing in the village. The [[population density]] was {{convert|253.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 46 housing units at an average density of {{convert|353.8|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the village was 100.0% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]].

There were 21 households, of which 2 had children under the age of 18 living with them, 8 were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 1 had a female householder with no husband present, 1 had a male householder with no wife present, and 11 were non-families.  Eleven of the households were made up of individuals, and 8 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.57 and the average family size was 2.10.

The median age in the village was 55.3 years. Three of the residents were under the age of 18; one was between the ages of 18 and 24; four were between 25 and 44; fifteen were from 45 to 64; and ten were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.5% male and 54.5% female.

==See also==
{{portal-inline|Nebraska}}

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Seneca, Nebraska}}
* [http://www.radiolab.org/story/seneca-nebraska/ "Seneca, Nebraska" story on the RadioLab Podcast]

{{Thomas County, Nebraska}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places in Thomas County, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Nebraska]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in 2014]]
[[Category:Former municipalities in Nebraska]]