Chase

Formed February 27, 1873 (56^th county)

Chase County (3,894), Imperial (2,066)                

The 1911 dark brown/red brick courthouse sits on a square surrounded by Broadway, 9^th, Court, and 10^th streets.  Broadway is United States Highway 6 traveling through the town.  A. T. Simmons designed the Jacobethan style building.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  There was an 1889 wooden courthouse earlier in Imperial, the only county seat.  The county was formed on February 27, 1873 from Native American Territory as the 56^th county.  The county is named for Nebraska Attorney General Champion S. Chase.  The county seat is presumably a descriptive term to lure settlers. 

Chase County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a treasurer and a clerk (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Three District Court Judges and Five County Court Judges serve Chase, Arthur, Dawson, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Gosper, Hayes, Hitchcock, Hooker, Keith, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Perkins, Red Willow and Thomas counties (judicial.)  Chase County is on the southwest border with Colorado.  Grand Island, Nebraska is east and Scottsbluff, Nebraska is northwest.  The county center is 3.2 miles West of Imperial.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Perkins, Hayes, and Dundy counties and Colorado. 

The area of the county is 894 square miles.  It is 21 out of 93 in the state.  It ranks 61 out of 93 in population in the state.  It has a density of 4.4 persons per square mile making it 62 out of 93 in the state.  Chase County has 67.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 6 passes east to west in the county from Hayes County to Colorado.  The county is a rectangle.  Imperial is east of center in the county.  Imperial is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 53.1% of the county population.