Fillmore County, Nebraska

Fillmore County, Nebraska

County seat: Geneva · Created: January 26, 1856; organized 1871 · Named for: President Millard Fillmore · License plates: prefix 34 · Population: 5,551 (2020 census); peak 16,022 (1890) · Area: 577 sq mi · Time zone: Central

About Fillmore County

Fillmore County is level farm country in south-central Nebraska, in the Rainwater Basin and the watershed of the West Fork of the Big Blue River. Geneva, at the center, is the county seat and only city; the villages are Fairmont, Exeter, Shickley, Milligan, Ohiowa, Grafton and Strang. The county borders York County on the north, Seward at the northeast corner, Saline on the east, Jefferson at the southeast corner, Thayer on the south, Nuckolls at the southwest corner, Clay on the west and Hamilton at the northwest corner.

The territorial legislature created the county on January 26, 1856, and named it for Millard Fillmore; Saline County handled its affairs until Acting Governor William H. James proclaimed it organized on March 15, 1871. Fillmore City, laid out in 1870 north of present Grafton, was the first town. The county seat went to the geographic center, platted as Henry and renamed Geneva in 1872. The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad laid out Exeter, Fairmont and Grafton in 1871, and the railroad boom of 1886–88 created Shickley, Strang, Ohiowa and Milligan. Czech settlers took up land around Milligan and Swedes around Stockholm, near Shickley. The population peaked at 16,022 in 1890; it was 5,551 in 2020 and about 5,458 in 2025.

Towns of Fillmore County

Travel Corridors

US 81 runs north–south through Strang, Geneva and Fairmont, about 24 miles to I-80 at York. US 6 crosses the north with the BNSF through Grafton, Fairmont and Exeter. US 6 Corridor → NE 41 runs east–west through the middle of the county by Milligan, and NE 74 across the south past Shickley, Strang and Ohiowa.

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

Things to See

Fillmore County has 20 places on the National Register. In Geneva: the 1894 Fillmore County Courthouse with its 1909 clock tower, The Auditorium, the post office and the First Congregational Church (listed in 2025). In Fairmont: the Fillmore County Museum, the Fairmont Creamery building and the World War II Fairmont Army Air Field, where seven bomb groups trained and Paul Tibbets picked a squadron for the 509th Composite Group. Elsewhere: Milligan’s 1929 Czech National Hall, the Stockholm Swedish Lutheran Church near Shickley, the Ohiowa Public School, Grafton High School (2025), and Strang’s town hall and jail, school and museum.

Parks and Outdoors

The county has 15 public Rainwater Basin wetlands. The state wildlife management areas are Bluebill and Marsh Hawk at Grafton, Sandpiper southwest of Geneva, and Redhead and Sora near Shickley; the federal waterfowl production areas include Mallard Haven (1,245 acres) and Krause near Shickley, Real near Fairmont, and Brauning and Rauscher near Grafton. Lone Star Recreation Area, east of Ohiowa, has a 75-acre lake with camping. There is no state park.

Fillmore County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Geneva · Exeter · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

York County (north) · Seward County (northeast corner) · Saline County (east) · Jefferson County (southeast corner) · Thayer County (south) · Nuckolls County (southwest corner) · Clay County (west) · Hamilton County (northwest corner).

Events

The Milligan June Jubilee (June 12–14 in 2026) and the Fillmore County Fair in Geneva (July 13–20 in 2026).

Fillmore County at a Glance

Fillmore County, Nebraska — created January 26, 1856, by the territorial legislature and named for President Millard Fillmore; organized March 15, 1871. County seat Geneva. Population 5,551 at the 2020 census (peak 16,022 in 1890). 192 listings across 8 towns.

Geneva holds Nebraska’s record high temperature, 118°F on July 15, 1934. Fairmont Army Air Field trained B-24, B-17 and B-29 crews in World War II.

Getting there: US 81 runs north from Geneva to I-80 at York, about 24 miles; US 6 crosses the north. Central Time.

Born here: Nobel economist Robert B. Wilson and Oklahoma reformer Kate Barnard (Geneva), CNN’s Jeff Zeleny and Judge Richard A. Dier (Exeter), and ballplayer Eddie Brown (Milligan).