Harlan County, Nebraska

Harlan County, Nebraska

County seat: Alma · Created: June 3, 1871, from part of Lincoln County · Named for: Thomas Harlan, president of the Cheyenne Colony (some accounts say Sen. James Harlan of Iowa) · License plates: prefix 51 · Population: 3,073 (2020 census); peak 9,578 in 1910 · Area: 574 sq mi, 553 of it land

About Harlan County

Harlan County lies on the Kansas line in south-central Nebraska. The Republican River crosses it from west to east, fed by Sappa and Prairie Dog creeks from the south and Spring and Turkey creeks from the north, and since 1952 most of the valley from Alma to Republican City has been Harlan County Lake, the state's second-largest lake. A party of 40 men camped near present Orleans on August 31, 1870, and J. W. Foster built the county's first house that September; F. A. Bieyon's group wintered in a stockade at Melrose. In February 1871 the Cheyenne Colony, led by Thomas Harlan and organized in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, sent settlers who founded Alma, and the Legislature created the county by special act on June 3, 1871. The earliest county history says it was named for Thomas Harlan; other accounts credit Sen. James Harlan of Iowa or a nephew of his.

The county seat was fought over for a dozen years. Alma won the first vote on July 3, 1871, 37 to 5 over the paper town of Napoleon. Melrose won a second election in 1872 and held the records until Judge Daniel Gantt ruled in 1873 that the 1871 vote stood. Orleans challenged Alma after a disputed election in 1881 and built its own courthouse, but the courts confirmed Alma. The present courthouse in Alma was built in 1964–65.

The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad built up the valley through Republican City, Alma and Orleans in 1879–80, then branches up Prairie Dog Creek to Oberlin, Kansas, and up the Sappa through Stamford; the Kansas City & Omaha (later the Union Pacific's Alma branch) founded Huntley and Ragan in 1886–87. The flood of May 31, 1935, killed 21 people at Orleans and one at Alma, about 25 in the county and nearly 100 along the river, and led to Harlan County Dam, built by the Corps of Engineers in 1946–52; Republican City moved uphill out of the reservoir. Ashton C. Shallenberger of Alma was governor of Nebraska from 1909 to 1911.

Towns of Harlan County

Travel Corridors

US 136 — the Heritage Highway, east–west along the north side of the valley from Oxford through Orleans, Alma and Republican City. US 136 Corridor →

US 183 — north–south from Phillipsburg, Kansas, across Harlan County Lake into Alma, sharing about 2 mi with US 136, then north past the Huntley spur to Holdrege and I-80. US 183 Corridor →

NE 4 — begins at US 6/34 in the county's northwest corner and runs east through Ragan. NE 4 Corridor →

State highways — NE 89 from Beaver City through Stamford and Orleans to US 183 south of Alma; NE 46, which begins at NE 89 west of Stamford and runs north along the Furnas County line to Oxford; the S-42A spur to Huntley; and US 6/34, which clip the northwest corner.

Cameras: View Harlan County cameras (US 136 north of Alma) → · Road conditions: Nebraska 511

Things to See

In Alma, the City Auditorium and Sale Barn (1922–23), the Carnegie library (1911) and the Parrot Theatre; in Orleans, the Hotel Orleans (1929–30), the Preston library (1917) and the Harlan County Museum; and three steel truss bridges on county roads: Prairie Dog Creek (1913) south of Orleans, Sappa Creek (1916) east of Stamford, scheduled for replacement, and Turkey Creek (1899) near Ragan. All seven are on the National Register. The Pioneer Crossing historical marker stands on NE 4 west of Ragan.

Outdoors

Harlan County Lake covers about 13,000 acres with about 75 miles of shoreline and reaches into Kansas; the Corps of Engineers manages it from its office at Republican City (308-799-2105). Its campgrounds are Methodist Cove near Alma and Hunter Cove near Republican City (Recreation.gov, May–September), with Gremlin Cove, the outlet parks below the dam, the Cedar Run ATV Trail, the North Shore and Patterson Harbor marinas, the city-run Alma RV Park and a seaplane base. Walleye, white bass, wipers, catfish and crappie draw anglers, more than 300 bird species have been recorded, and bald eagles winter near Alma; more than 17,000 acres of Corps land are open to hunting. In October 2026 the lake stood about 13 ft below normal and several ramps were closed, so check with the Corps. Alma has the Pheasant Ridge Trail, the Peckerneck horse trail, a pool and a nine-hole golf course; Game and Parks manages the South Sacramento and Southeast Sacramento WMAs near Ragan.

Harlan County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Alma · Orleans · Stamford · Republican City · Ragan · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Phelps County (north) · Franklin County (east) · Furnas County (west) · Phillips County, Kansas (south); Kearney County (northeast) and Norton County, Kansas (southwest) touch only at the corners. Oxford, mostly in Furnas County, reaches into Harlan County at its east edge.

Events

2026 dates: Alma's Fourth of July (July 4), with the "Best Race by a Dam Site" 10K, a parade and fireworks over the lake; the Harlan County Fair at the fairgrounds in Orleans (July 27–31); and Orleans Applefest (October 3; next on October 2, 2027).

Harlan County at a Glance

Harlan County, Nebraska — on the Kansas line along the Republican River, home of Harlan County Lake, the state's second-largest. County seat Alma, with five villages.

Getting there: US 183 from I-80 at Kearney (41 mi to the dam), US 136 along the valley, NE 4 across the north and NE 89 in the southwest.

For visitors: the lake's campgrounds, marinas and trails; Alma's auditorium, Parrot Theatre and lakeside RV park; Orleans' historic hotel and county museum; three National Register truss bridges. Hospital: Harlan County Health System in Alma.