Pawnee County, Nebraska

Pawnee County, Nebraska

County seat: Pawnee City · Created: by the territorial legislature on March 3, 1855 (often given as 1854) · Named for: the Pawnee people · License plates: prefix 54 · Population: 2,544 (2020 census; peak 11,770 in 1900) · Area: 431 sq mi of land

About Pawnee County

Pawnee County lies on the Kansas line in southeastern Nebraska, a county of rolling farm and ranch land drained by the forks of the Nemaha River; about 86 percent of the land is farmed or ranched. It is named for the Pawnee, whose four bands moved to Oklahoma in 1874–75. Pawnee City was chosen as county seat in 1856 and laid out in 1857. Settlers founded Cincinnati on the South Fork in 1857, a Pennsylvania and New York colony took up Table Rock that year, and the Swiss Steinauer brothers settled near Steinauer in 1856.

The Atchison & Nebraska Railroad reached Table Rock in 1871, the Burlington's line to Wymore founded Burchard and reached Pawnee City in 1881, and a Rock Island line built in 1886–87 created Du Bois, Steinauer and Lewiston. The county counted 11,770 people in 1900. Silent-film star Harold Lloyd was born at Burchard in 1893. No U.S. highway enters the county; state highways connect its six towns.

Towns of Pawnee County

Travel Corridors

NE 50 — north–south from the Kansas line through Du Bois and Pawnee City, past Table Rock and Steinauer, to Tecumseh and Omaha. NE 50 Corridor →

State highways — NE 4 across the north of the county through Table Rock, past Lewiston; NE 8 east–west through Pawnee City and Du Bois toward Falls City; NE 65 from the Kansas line through Pawnee City to Table Rock; NE 99 from the Kansas line through Burchard to NE 4; and NE 105 north from NE 4 east of Table Rock. The nearest U.S. highway is US 136 at Tecumseh.

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

Things to See

In Pawnee City: the historic downtown and 1911 courthouse, the Carnegie library and the 22-building Pawnee City Historical Society museum. In Table Rock: the Museums of Table Rock around the public square, including the 1893 opera house. In Steinauer: St. Anthony Church and the opera house. In Burchard: the Harold Lloyd Birthplace. North of Du Bois: the 1921 Czech Hall.

Outdoors

Burchard Lake in the Burchard WMA has fishing, camping and prairie-chicken viewing blinds from February to April. The Nemaha NRD's Iron Horse Trail Lake near Du Bois has camping, a boat ramp and swimming. Hunters can use the Pawnee Prairie (1,140 acres), Table Rock, Bowwood, Taylor's Branch, Mayberry, Prairie Knoll and Lores Branch wildlife management areas. Pawnee City's Fairview Golf Course still has sand greens.

Pawnee County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Pawnee City · Table Rock · Du Bois · Burchard · Lewiston · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Johnson County (north) · Nemaha County (northeast) · Richardson County (east) · Nemaha County, Kansas (southeast) · Marshall County, Kansas (southwest) · Gage County (west)

Events

2026 dates: the Pawnee County Fair in Pawnee City (July 13–18), with the 4-H fair, a tractor pull and a rodeo; and Pawnee City's Fall Festival and Kids Carnival (October 10). Prairie-chicken viewing at Burchard Lake runs from February to April.

Pawnee County at a Glance

Pawnee County, Nebraska — on the Kansas line in the southeast. County seat Pawnee City; five villages: Table Rock, Du Bois, Burchard, Steinauer and Lewiston.

Getting there: NE 50 from Tecumseh or Kansas, NE 8 from Falls City, and NE 4 from Beatrice or Humboldt.

For visitors: Pawnee City's historic downtown and museum, Table Rock's museums, the Harold Lloyd Birthplace in Burchard, St. Anthony Church in Steinauer, Burchard Lake and Iron Horse Trail Lake. Hospital: Pawnee County Memorial Hospital in Pawnee City.