Howard

Formed January 1, 1871 (51^st county)

Howard County (6,472), Saint Paul (2,418)                

The brown brick and masonry Classical Revival building was built in 1913.  It sits at the corner of Indian and 6^th streets.  United States Highway 281 is four blocks to the east.  The county was founded on January 1, 1871 from Hall County as the 51^st county with Saint Paul as the only county seat.  It is named for Civil War General Oliver Otis Howard.  Saint Paul was named for the town surveyors James N. and Nicholas J. Paul.  Berlinghof and Davis provided the designs.  The structure sits on a hill with veteran memorials on the grounds. 

Howard County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Two District Court Judges and Three County Court Judges serve Howard, Blaine, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Custer, Garfield, Greeley, Holt, Keya Paha, Loup, Rock, Sherman, Valley and Wheeler counties.  The county is located in the central part of the state.  Grand Island, Nebraska is directly to the south of the county.  The county center is 6.7 miles West of Saint Paul nearer Farwell.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Greeley, Nance, Merrick, Hall, Buffalo, and Sherman counties. 

The area of the county is 570 square miles.  It is 62 out of 93 in the state.  It ranks 45 out of 93 in population in the state.  It has a density of 11.4 persons per square mile making it 41 out of 93 in the state.  Howard County has 50.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 281 passes north to south through the county from Greeley County to Hall County.  The county is a rectangle.  Saint Paul is east of center in the county.  Saint Paul is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 37.4% of the county population.  This county is in the Grand Island Micropolitan Statistical Area.