Richardson County, NE

Richardson County is located in the extreme southeastern part of the state. It is about 550 square miles in size. Being 18 miles from the northern boundary to the southern boundary and in width about 27 miles at the northern boundary and 36 miles at the southern boundary.

The Great Nemaha River enters the county near the southwest corner and traverses the county from west to east, emptying into the Missouri River near Rulo. The muddy Creek enters in the northwest part and bends eastward, roughly paralleling the Great Nemaha River and flowing into it about four miles east of Falls City. In the early days, there was a number of mills built on these streams. The drainage of the entire county is received by the Missouri River.

Temperature in Richardson County will drop to as low as 30 degrees below zero in the winter and as high as 105 degrees above zero in the summer. The average temperature in the warm season is about 69 degrees and in the cold season, about 38 degrees. Annual rainfall is about 32 inches with about 80% of this falling during the growing season. The average annual snowfall is about 20 inches. Prevailing winds are from the northwest with the summer winds coming from the south and southeast. Average wind velocity is about 9 miles per hour with winds of 30 to 50 miles per hour quite common. However tornadic winds are a rare occurrence. Altitude in the county varies from a low of 875 feet above sea level near Rulo, to a high of 1220 feet above sea level in the northwestern part of the county.

The general topography of the county is rolling and has an average growing season of about 170 days. Richardson County is one of the principal hog raising counties in the state. Also many cattle are raised here. Corn, alfalfa and wheat are grown generally throughout the county. Apples are also grown very abundantly in the county.

In the southeastern part of the county, near Rulo, there used to be some coal mined. Also, east of Humboldt are some veins of coal although perhaps not in a sufficient enough quantity to be mined economically. Inexhaustive quarries of first-class building stone are available in many parts of the county. Much rock is also being crushed for road purposes and there are thousands of tons of gravel in many gravel pits. The manufacture of brick used to be one of Humboldt’s leading industries although none are being made there at the present time.

Richardson County also boasts of many oil wells that are actively engaged in pumping oil. These are located in the vicinity of Barada and Falls City areas. At one time, this was the largest oil field in Nebraska.

The first Indians in this territory were the Pawnees, having been here about three or four hundred years. Then came the Sacs, Foxes, and owas. The Pawnee Indians were a very religious group and as a whole were never at war with the white people. Many people considered that the Pawnees attained a higher culture than other Indians of the plains states.

The first permanent settlement in the county was about a mile north of Falls City I the year of 1855. The county had been created in 1854 and reorganized in 1855 by the first territorial legislature. The first settlers were from Tennessee, then they came from Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and the New England states. Later foreigners including Germans, Swedes, Welsh, Bohemians, Irish, English, Swiss and French settled in the county.

Many towns that had started up in the early days are now gone. A few of these are Mt. Roy, Yankton, Winnebago, Archer, and Arogo.

The county takes its name from William A. Richardson, who held a commission from President Buchanan as territorial governor, arriving in the state in 1858.