Garfield County, Nebraska

Garfield County, Nebraska

County seat: Burwell · Created: separated from Wheeler County by a vote of November 1881, organized 1884 · Named for: President James A. Garfield · License plates: prefix 83 · Population: 1,813 (2020 census); peak 3,496 in 1920 · Area: 571 sq mi · Time zone: Central

About Garfield County

Garfield County runs from grass-covered Sandhills in the north and west down to the broad North Loup valley in the south. Burwell, the county seat and only incorporated place, sits near where the Calamus River joins the North Loup; the Calamus is dammed at Virginia Smith Dam on the county’s western side to form Calamus Reservoir, which reaches west into Loup County. Willow Springs was the first county seat, and Erina an Irish colony of 1880. The county borders Holt County on the north, Wheeler on the east, Valley on the south, Custer on the southwest and Loup on the west.

The first settler families came up the North Loup in 1872, and the valley lay on Sioux raiding routes toward the Pawnee reservation, which led to the Battle of Pebble Creek (1874) and the founding of Fort Hartsuff just south in Valley County. Voters split the area from Wheeler County in 1881, and the county was organized in 1884 with its seat at Willow Springs. The Burlington reached Burwell in 1887, and the seat moved there in 1890. The population peaked at 3,496 in 1920. Nebraska’s Big Rodeo began in Burwell in 1921. The present courthouse was built in 1962–63. Virginia Smith Dam was finished in 1986. Other early post offices included Deverre (1905–1933), Gables, Ballagh, Blake, Dumas and Rosevale.

Towns of Garfield County

Travel Corridors

NE 11 — north–south through Burwell, from Ord and Elyria north to Atkinson. Highway 11 Corridor →

NE 91 — east–west through Burwell, from Taylor east to Ericson; NE 70 shares it briefly toward Ericson. Highway 91 Corridor → NE 96 runs from NE 91 west of Burwell northwest past Calamus Reservoir to US 183.

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

Things to See

Nebraska’s Big Rodeo on the National Register Garfield County Frontier Fairgrounds; the 1906 Hub Building and the 1914 Carnegie library (private home) in Burwell; the Garfield County Historical Museum; History Nebraska marker 188 at the courthouse; and Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park, about 7 miles southeast of Burwell in Valley County.

Outdoors

Calamus Reservoir State Recreation Area: a 5,123-acre lake with 31 miles of shoreline behind Virginia Smith Dam (96 feet high, finished 1986), about 5 miles northwest of Burwell. About 122 electric and 55 primitive campsites in four areas; Homestead Knolls is on the Garfield County side, and Nunda Shoal, Valley View Flat and Hannaman Bayou on the Loup side. Electric Plus sites run about $30 a night, basic $15 and primitive $10, with $5 off from mid-October through April; half the electric sites are reservable. A park entry permit is required (2026: $7.35 a day or $36 a year for Nebraska vehicles, $14.35 or $71 for others). The dump station is at Little York Point, by the park office, (308) 346-5666. Walleye, white bass, wipers, catfish, northern pike, muskellunge, crappie and perch; the upper lake is no-wake. The Calamus State Fish Hatchery is below the dam. In Burwell, the city park on the North Loup has four electric campsites, and private campgrounds and cabins line NE 96 and NE 91. Hunt the Calamus WMA lands around the reservoir and Mirdan Canal WMA (52 acres) west of Burwell. Golf at Calamus Golf Course below the dam.

Garfield County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Burwell · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Holt County (north) · Wheeler County (east) · Valley County (south) · Custer County (southwest) · Loup County (west).

Events

Each year: Nebraska’s Big Rodeo, a PRCA rodeo in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, in late July (July 22–25 in 2026, with PRCA Xtreme Bulls on the opening night), and the Garfield County Fair the same week.

Garfield County at a Glance

Garfield County, Nebraska — the North Loup valley, Calamus Reservoir and Nebraska’s Big Rodeo. County seat Burwell. 115 listings across 3 towns. Central Time.

Getting there: NE 11 north–south and NE 91 east–west through Burwell; NE 96 northwest to Calamus Reservoir.

For visitors: Nebraska’s Big Rodeo in late July, Calamus Reservoir camping and fishing, the Hub Building and the county museum; Fort Hartsuff is just south in Valley County. Nearest hospital in Ord.