Nemaha

Formed August 25, 1855 (17^th county)

Nemaha County (10,277), Seneca (2,139), Sabetha (2,542)

The light red brick and concrete Modern courthouse is on Nemaha Street between 6^th and 7^th streets.  The site is five blocks to the south of United States Highway 36 passing through the city.  Since the county’s August 25, 1855 organizing, two courthouses have served the county, an 1872 and this 1955 version all in Seneca.  Richmond was the county seat before Seneca.  The current courthouse uses the designs of Thomas, Harris, Calvin, and Associates.  A veterans’ memorial is on the courthouse grounds.  The county was an original county (17^th county) for Kansas.  The county is named for the Nemaha River which is Native American for “muddy waters.”  Seneca is named for Seneca, Ohio. 

Nemaha County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Four District Court Judges serve Nemaha, Brown, Doniphan, and Marshall counties.  The county is in northeast Kansas on the border with Nebraska.  Kansas City, Kansas is southeast and Topeka, Kansas is south of the county.  The county center is 10.1 miles Southeast of Seneca nearer Kelly.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Nebraska and Brown, Jackson, Pottawatomie, and Marshall counties. 

The area of the county is 719 square miles.  It is 60 out of 105 in the state.  It ranks 38 out of 105 in population in the state.  It has a density of 14.3 persons per square mile making it 41 out of 105 in the state.  Nemaha County has 58.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 36 crosses the county east to west from Brown County to Marshall County.  United States Highway 75 clips the northeast corner as it enters from Nebraska and goes east into Brown County.  The county is a rectangle with Seneca in the northwest quarter of the county.  Sabetha is on the northeast border and extends into Brown County.  Seneca is the county seat and Sabetha is the largest city.  Seneca is 20.8% of the county population while Sabetha is 24.7% of the county population.  The county is pronounced NEE-MA-HA.  The county seat is pronounced SEN-E-KA.  The largest city is pronounced SAB-E-THA.