Jefferson County, Nebraska

Jefferson County, Nebraska

County seat: Fairbury · Created: January 26, 1856, as Jones County; organized 1864; present boundaries since 1871 · Named for: Thomas Jefferson · License plates: prefix 33 · Population: 7,240 (2020 census); peak 16,852 in 1910 · Area: 576 sq mi

About Jefferson County

Jefferson County lies on the Kansas line in southern Nebraska, crossed from northwest to southeast by the Little Blue River. The Oregon–California Trail followed the Little Blue through the county, and the Pony Express had four stations here: Big Sandy, Whiskey Run, Rock Creek and Otoe. At Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, southeast of Fairbury, a road ranch, toll bridge and Pony Express station stood at a crossing of Rock Creek, and on July 12, 1861, James Butler Hickok killed David McCanles there; McCanles's employees James Woods and James Gordon also died, and the court ruled it self-defense. Magazine accounts of the fight launched the legend of Wild Bill.

The county's name has moved. In 1856 the territorial legislature created Jones County here and gave the name Jefferson to the county to its west. In 1867 the two were joined as Jefferson County, and in 1871 they were divided again along the Sixth Principal Meridian: the eastern half, the old Jones County, kept the name Jefferson, and the western half became Thayer County. Meridian, first called Big Sandy, was the county's first platted town (1868); Fairbury, laid out in 1869, became the county seat in 1871.

Railroads made the towns. The St. Joseph & Western came up the Little Blue in 1872 through Fairbury, Powell and Steele City; the Burlington founded Diller, Endicott and Reynolds in 1880–81; and the Rock Island built Jansen, Harbine and Gladstone in 1886 and moved Plymouth to its line in 1892. Daykin followed in 1887. Fairbury was the Rock Island's Western Division headquarters until 1965, and the Union Pacific still serves it. Today the county is farm country, with Endicott Clay Products near Endicott and the junction of the Keystone pipeline at Steele City.

Towns of Jefferson County

Travel Corridors

US 136 — the Heritage Highway, east–west from Beatrice through Harbine, Jansen and Fairbury toward Hebron. US 136 Corridor →

NE 15 — north–south from the Kansas line through Fairbury to I-80 at Seward, about 50 miles north. NE 15 Corridor →

NE 4 — east–west across the north through Daykin and Plymouth toward Beatrice. NE 4 Corridor →

State highways — NE 8 from Hubbell through Reynolds and Fairbury to Steele City and Odell, and NE 103 from NE 8 through Diller to US 136 at Harbine.

Historic trails: Oregon National Historic Trail → · Pony Express National Historic Trail →

Cameras: View Jefferson County cameras → · Road conditions: Nebraska 511

Things to See

Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, with reconstructed ranch buildings, the toll bridge site, deep Oregon Trail ruts and a visitor center open mid-April to mid-October; in Fairbury, the 1892 Jefferson County Courthouse and the historic downtown, the Rock Island Depot Railroad Museum, the Fairbury City Museum and the Smith Lime Kiln; the 1849 George Winslow grave north of Fairbury; the Anna C. Diller Opera House and Diller Museum; the Steele City Historic District; and the District No. 10 School west of Powell.

Outdoors

Crystal Springs Park and Campground in Fairbury has trout lakes and 42 campsites, and Rock Creek Station has a campground with electric sites and horse corrals. Buckley Creek near Reynolds and Cub Creek near Plymouth have lakes and camping, and Alexandria Lakes in the northwest has two lakes. Hunters can use the Flathead, Rock Glen and Rose Creek wildlife management areas near Fairbury.

Jefferson County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Fairbury · Plymouth · Diller · Daykin · Jansen · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Saline County (north) · Gage County (east) · Washington County, Kansas (south) · Thayer County (west); Fillmore County (northwest) and Republic County, Kansas (southwest) touch only at the corners

Events

2026 dates: Rock Creek Trail Days at Rock Creek Station (June 13); the Fairbury July 4th flea market and fireworks in City Park; the Jefferson County Fair in Fairbury (July 8–12); the Diller Picnic, held every summer since 1897; and the Steele City flea market and antique farm machinery show on the third weekend of September.

Jefferson County at a Glance

Jefferson County, Nebraska — on the Kansas line, along the Little Blue River. County seat Fairbury; nine villages and the unincorporated communities of Powell and Gladstone.

Getting there: US 136 from Beatrice or Hebron, NE 15 from I-80 at Seward or from Kansas, and NE 4 across the north.

For visitors: Rock Creek Station on the Oregon Trail and Pony Express, Fairbury's courthouse square and depot museum, Diller's opera house, Steele City's stone Main Street, and camping at Crystal Springs, Buckley Creek and Cub Creek. Hospital: Jefferson Community Health & Life in Fairbury.