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Alma, Nebraska
Alma is the county seat of Harlan County, founded in the spring of 1871 when members of the "Cheyenne Colony" — settlers who had come from Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, led by Mark Coad, N. P. Cook, and Thomas Murrin — selected the townsite. The town takes its name from Alma Cook, young daughter of settler N. P. Cook, a naming corroborated independently by two 19th-century local histories. Alma won the county seat by a vote of 37 to 5 on July 3, 1871, though the decision was contested for over a decade by rival towns Republican City and the now-vanished Melrose, until the Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed Alma's status in 1884.
Growth resumed once the seat dispute settled and the railroad arrived: the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad reached Alma on January 13, 1880, followed by the Kansas City and Omaha Railroad in 1887. Alma incorporated in July 1881. The town sits near the Republican River and Harlan County Lake, formed by the Harlan County Dam (built 1946–1952), one of the region's principal recreation destinations. As of the 2020 Census, Alma's population is 1,043.
Alma, Nebraska (68920)
County seat of Harlan County, founded 1871 by the "Cheyenne Colony" and named for settler N. P. Cook's daughter, Alma. Won a decades-long county-seat rivalry with Republican City, affirmed by the Nebraska Supreme Court in 1884. Near Harlan County Lake and the Republican River. Population 1,043 (2020).
ZIP: 68920 | Pop: 1,043 (2020) | Designation: County Seat
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Get directions: search "Alma Nebraska" in Waze or Google Maps
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
Harlan County Cameras: View Harlan County cameras