Otoe

Formed January 1, 1855 (15^th county)

Otoe County (15,907), Nebraska City (7,216)

The red brick courthouse was built in 1865 and remodeled and enlarged in 1882 and 1936.  It is located on a square at Central Avenue, 10^th, 1^st Corso Avenue, 11^th Street.  United States Highway 75 is 11^th Street.  A. G. Basset is the designer of this Federalist building.  A small tower sits on top of the courthouse.  Otoe County was established on January 1, 1855 as the 15^th county.  Nebraska City has always been the county seat.  The county is named for the Native American tribe.  The city is named for the state.  Otoe County was the birthplace for 1 Nebraska Governor, J. Peter Ricketts. 

Otoe County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a treasurer and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Two District Court Judges and Three County Court Judges serve Otoe, Cass, and Sarpy counties (judicial.)  Otoe County is on the eastern border with Iowa.  The Missouri River forms its eastern border.  Omaha, Nebraska is north and Lincoln, Nebraska is west of the county.  The county center is 14 miles West of Nebraska City nearer Syracuse.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Cass County and Iowa and Missouri and Nemaha, Johnson, Gage, and Lancaster counties. 

The area of the county is 616 square miles.  It is 43 out of 93 in the state.  It ranks 19 out of 93 in population in the state.  It has a density of 25.8 persons per square mile making it 16 out of 93 in the state.  Otoe County has 67.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 75 passes north to south through the county from Cass County to Nemaha County.  The county looks like a scoop.  Nebraska City is on the eastern border of the county.  Nebraska City is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 45.4% of the county population.  The county is pronounced OE-TOE.

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