Furnas

Formed February 27, 1873 (58^th county)

Furnas County (4,633), Beaver City (539), Cambridge (1,074)                

The tan brick Art Deco facility was constructed in 1949 and is located at R, 9^th, S, and 10^th streets.  Nebraska State Highway 89 is six blocks south of the site.  The county was organized on February 27, 1873 from Native American Territory as the 58^th county.  John Latenser and Sons were the architects.  A classic 1888 courthouse existed previously also in Beaver City, the only county seat. 

Furnas 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 Furnas, Arthur, Chase, Dawson, Dundy, Frontier, Gosper, Hayes, Hitchcock, Hooker, Keith, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Perkins, Red Willow and Thomas counties (judicial.)  Furnas County is on the southern border with Kansas.  Grand Island, Nebraska is northeast and Scottsbluff, Nebraska is northwest of the county.  The county center is 8.1 miles Northwest of Beaver City nearer Hendley.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Gosper, Phelps, and Harlan counties and Kansas and Red Willow and Frontier counties.  The county is named for Governor Robert W. Furnas.  Beaver City is named for the Beaver River. 

The area of the county is 718 square miles.  It is 34 out of 93 in the state.  It ranks 57 out of 93 in population in the state.  It has a density of 6.5 persons per square mile making it 55 out of 93 in the state.  Furnas County has 76.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highways 6/34 are joined together east to west from Harlan County to Red Willow County.  United States Highway 136 enters from the east, Harlan County, and terminates.  United States Highway 283 passes north to south from Gosper County to Kansas.  The county is a rectangle.  Beaver City is located in the southeast quarter of the county.  Cambridge is in the northwest corner of the county.  Beaver City is the county seat and Cambridge is the largest city.  Beaver City is 11.6% of the county population while Cambridge is 23.2% of the county population.