Greeley

Formed January 1, 1871 (49^th county)

Greeley County (2,186), Greeley Center (396), Spalding (409)

The Classical Revival tan brick and masonry courthouse was erected in 1914.  The courthouse is on O’Neill Street at Kildare Street.  United States Highway 281 is six blocks west of the courthouse.  Greeley County was formed on January 1, 1871 from Native American Territory as the 49^th county.  Berlinghof and Davis were the designers.  The grounds feature veteran memorials and a citizen’s wall.  There was an 1890 courthouse earlier also in Greeley Center.  Lamartine and Scotia preceded Greeley Center as the county seat.  The county is named for American publicist Horace Greeley.  The county seat is named for its geographical location in the county. 

Greeley County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Two District Court Judges and Three County Court Judges serve Greeley, Blaine, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Custer, Garfield, Holt, Howard, Keya Paha, Loup, Rock, Sherman, Valley and Wheeler counties.  Greeley County is in the central part of the state.  Grand Island, Nebraska is south and Omaha, Nebraska is east of the county.  The county center is 4 miles Northeast of Greeley Center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wheeler, Boone, Nance, Howard, Sherman, and Valley counties. 

The area of the county is 570 square miles.  It is 61 out of 93 in the state.  It ranks 73 out of 93 in population in the state.  It has a density of 3.8 persons per square mile making it 67 out of 93 in the state.  Greeley County has 60.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 281 crosses the county north to south from Wheeler County to Howard County.  The county is a rectangle.  Greeley Center is located slightly south of center in the county.  Spalding is in the northeast corner of the county.  Greeley Center is the county seat and Spalding is the largest city.  Greeley Center is 18.1% of the county population while Spalding is 18.7% of the county population.

Wolbach