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Tekamah, Nebraska
Tekamah is the county seat of Burt County, in eastern Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,714 residents.
History
Tekamah was founded in October 1854 by Benjamin R. Folsom and incorporated on March 14, 1855, making it one of the older organized communities in the state. The city’s name derives from a word in the Omaha language meaning “big cottonwood.” Development was stimulated by railroad construction, including the Chicago & North Western Railway, which helped establish Tekamah as the commercial and governmental center of Burt County.
Location & Geography
Tekamah sits at approximately 41.778°N, 96.225°W, at an elevation of 1,056 feet, and covers about 1.59 square miles as the county seat of Burt County.
Notable Features & Figures
Tekamah is home to the Tekamah Carnegie Library, built in 1916 and expanded in 2013, and the Burt County Courthouse, also built in 1916. Notable residents have included Curt Bromm, a former Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, rodeo champion and early film actor Hoot Gibson, and Don Stenberg, a former Nebraska Attorney General. The city hosts an annual sweet corn festival.
Community
Tekamah’s population has declined gradually over the past two decades — 1,892 in 2000, 1,736 in 2010, and 1,714 in 2020 — while remaining Burt County’s largest city and its seat of government.
Tekamah, Nebraska (68061)
County seat of Burt County, founded October 1854 by Benjamin R. Folsom and incorporated March 14, 1855. Name derives from an Omaha language word meaning "big cottonwood." Population 1,714 (2020 census).
ZIP: 68061 | Pop: 1,714 | Elevation: 1,056 ft | Area: 1.59 sq mi
Home to the Burt County Courthouse and Tekamah Carnegie Library (1916). Hosts an annual sweet corn festival.