Dawes County, Nebraska

Dawes County, Nebraska

County seat: Chadron · Created: February 19, 1885 · Named for: James W. Dawes, governor of Nebraska 1883–1887 · License plates: prefix 69 · Population: 8,199 (2020 census); peak 11,493 in 1930 · Area: 1,401 sq mi · Time zone: Mountain

About Dawes County

Dawes County is the heart of Nebraska's Pine Ridge, where ponderosa-covered buttes and canyons rise above the White River valley, with the Niobrara and the high plains to the south. Chadron, the county seat, is the largest town in northwest Nebraska and home of Chadron State College; Crawford is the gateway to Fort Robinson; Whitney is the only village. The county borders Fall River and Oglala Lakota counties, South Dakota, on the north, Sheridan County on the east, Box Butte County on the south and Sioux County on the west.

The legislature cut the county from Sioux County on February 19, 1885, and Box Butte County was taken from its southern part in 1886. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley (later Chicago & North Western) reached Chadron in 1885 and Crawford and Whitney in 1886, and the Burlington crossed it at Crawford in 1888–89, digging the Belmont Tunnel and founding Marsland. Fort Robinson, where Crazy Horse was killed in 1877 and the Northern Cheyenne broke out in January 1879, later served as a cavalry remount depot, a World War II K-9 training center and a prisoner-of-war camp. The population peaked at 11,493 in 1930. The county has 15 National Register listings, among them the fort, the courthouse and the Bordeaux Trading Post. In June 2026 the lightning-caused South Fork Fire burned about 39,700 acres around Fort Robinson; the park's historic buildings, lodging and campgrounds were spared and it fully reopened by July 1.

Towns of Dawes County

Travel Corridors

US 20 — the Bridges to Buttes Byway, from Hay Springs through Chadron, Whitney and Crawford to Fort Robinson and Harrison. US 20 Corridor →

US 385 — north–south through Chadron State Park and Chadron, south to Alliance and north to Hot Springs and the Black Hills. NE 2 / NE 71 — together from Hemingford through Marsland to Crawford and north to South Dakota. Highway 71 Corridor →

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

Things to See

Fort Robinson State Park, with the Fort Robinson History Center, the Trailside Museum and its mammoths, and the Post Playhouse; in Chadron the Museum of the Fur Trade, the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, the Dawes County Historical Museum and the 1893 Cowboy Race marker; and in Crawford the Crawford Historical Museum. Toadstool Geologic Park and Hudson-Meng, north of Crawford, are just over the line in Sioux County.

Outdoors

Fort Robinson (more than 22,000 acres, in Dawes and Sioux counties) is the largest park in the state system: three campgrounds (Red Cloud, Soldier Creek and the equestrian Mare Barn), a lodge, cabins and historic officers' quarters (mid-April to mid-November, lodging), 60 miles of hiking trails, trout ponds, jeep and stagecoach rides and a new outdoor aquatic center; (308) 665-2900. Chadron State Park, Nebraska's first (1921), has 22 cabins, camping and a pool 9 miles south of Chadron. The Pine Ridge National Recreation Area (about 6,600 acres) and the rest of the Nebraska National Forest's Pine Ridge Ranger District offer non-motorized trails and camping at Roberts Tract; the ranger district office is in Chadron. Wildlife areas open to hunting include Ponderosa (4,831 acres), Chadron Creek Ranch (2,529), Bordeaux (1,915) and Bighorn (1,271). Fishing and boating at Whitney Lake and Box Butte Reservoir. Deer, turkey, elk and bighorn sheep live in the Pine Ridge; elk and bighorn permits are limited.

Dawes County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Chadron · Crawford · Marsland · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Fall River County, South Dakota (northwest) · Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota (northeast) · Sheridan County (east) · Box Butte County (south) · Sioux County (west).

Events

Each year: the Festival of Quilts at the Dawes County Fairgrounds in April; the Fourth of July in Crawford with the Old West Trail Rodeo and the Western & Wildlife Art Show at Fort Robinson; Fur Trade Days in Chadron the second weekend of July (July 8–11, 2027); the Dawes County Fair in Chadron in late July; the Peabody Hale Fiddle Contest in Crawford in late July; and the Post Playhouse season at Fort Robinson from May to August.

Dawes County at a Glance

Dawes County, Nebraska — the heart of the Pine Ridge. County seat Chadron, home of Chadron State College. 285 listings across 9 towns. Mountain Time.

Getting there: US 20 east–west through Chadron, Whitney and Crawford; US 385 north–south through Chadron; NE 2/71 from Hemingford through Marsland to Crawford.

For visitors: Fort Robinson State Park, Chadron State Park, the Museum of the Fur Trade and the Pine Ridge National Recreation Area. Hospital in Chadron; clinic in Crawford.