Howard County, Nebraska

Howard County, Nebraska

County seat: St. Paul · Created: March 1, 1871; organized that spring · Named for: Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, head of the Freedmen’s Bureau · License plates: prefix 49 · Population: 6,475 (2020 census); peak 10,783 in 1910 · Area: 576 sq mi · Time zone: Central

About Howard County

Howard County lies in the Loup valleys of central Nebraska, where the North Loup and Middle Loup rivers meet about 5 miles northeast of St. Paul to form the Loup River. It has one city, St. Paul, the county seat; the villages of Dannebrog, Elba, Boelus, Farwell, Cushing and Cotesfield; and the unincorporated community of St. Libory. It borders Greeley County on the north, Merrick on the east, Hall on the south, Buffalo on the southwest and Sherman on the west, and is part of the Grand Island metropolitan area.

The Legislature set the county’s boundaries on March 1, 1871, carving it from northern Hall County and naming it for Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, and settlers led by James N. Paul arrived that March. St. Paul was named the seat in 1871 and beat Dannebrog in an 1874 election. Colonies gave the county its character: Danes around Dannebrog, Nysted and Dannevirke from 1871; Czechs around Warsaw, Elba, Cotesfield and St. Paul from 1875; and Poles at Farwell, Elba and Warsaw from 1877. The Union Pacific reached St. Paul in 1880 and built lines to Elba and Ord and to Dannebrog and Boelus; the Burlington followed through St. Paul, Cushing and Farwell. The county peaked at 10,783 people in 1910. Grover Cleveland Alexander, born near Elba in 1887, made St. Paul his home.

Towns of Howard County

Travel Corridors

US 281 — north–south through St. Libory and St. Paul, between Grand Island and Greeley. US 281 Corridor →

NE 92 — east–west through St. Paul, from Loup City to Central City. Highway 92 Corridor → NE 11 runs from Cairo through Dannebrog and Elba up the North Loup valley. Highway 11 Corridor → NE 58 runs from US 281 at St. Libory through Dannebrog and Boelus to Loup City.

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

Things to See

The Museum of Nebraska Major League Baseball, the Howard County Historical Village, Tubby’s Firehouse Museum and the 1914 courthouse in St. Paul; Columbia Hall and The Danish Bakery in Dannebrog; and the National Register Danish churches at Nysted and Dannevirke and Our Lady of Mount Carmel near Ashton.

Outdoors

North Loup State Recreation Area, 20 acres 4 miles north of St. Paul on US 281, has fishing ponds and primitive camping. Four wildlife management areas are open to public hunting: Leonard A. Koziol (328 acres north of St. Paul), Harold W. Andersen (272 acres on the Middle Loup near Dannebrog), Marsh Wren (153 acres on the North Loup near Elba) and Loup Bottoms (87 acres near Cotesfield). Dannebrog has a paved trail and RV hookups in its city park, and St. Paul has the Home Run RV Park.

Howard County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: St. Paul · Dannebrog · Elba · St. Libory · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Greeley County (north) · Merrick County (east) · Hall County (south) · Buffalo County (southwest) · Sherman County (west).

Events

Each year: Grundlovsfest (Danish Days) in Dannebrog the first weekend of June; Grover Cleveland Alexander Days in St. Paul the weekend after the Fourth of July; the Howard County Fair at St. Paul in mid-July; and the Junk Jaunt through Dannebrog and the Loup valley in late September. Howard County events →

Howard County at a Glance

Howard County, Nebraska — the meeting of the North and Middle Loup rivers, settled by Danes, Czechs and Poles. County seat St. Paul. 231 listings across 9 towns. Central Time.

Getting there: US 281 north–south through St. Libory and St. Paul; NE 92 east–west through St. Paul; NE 11 and NE 58 through Dannebrog.

For visitors: the baseball museum and historical village in St. Paul, Danish Dannebrog, North Loup SRA and four WMAs. Hospital: Howard County Medical Center in St. Paul.