Thurston County, Nebraska

Thurston County, Nebraska

County seat: Pender · Organized: 1889 · Named for: John M. Thurston, later a U.S. senator · License plate prefix: 55 · Population: 6,773 (2020 census) · Area: 396 sq mi

About Thurston County

Thurston County lies entirely within two reservations: the Omaha Reservation in the south, governed from Macy, and the Winnebago Reservation in the north, governed from Winnebago. The Omaha kept a reservation around the Blackbird Hills by the treaty of 1854; in 1865 they ceded its northern part for the Winnebago, who had been forced from Minnesota in 1863. About 58 percent of residents are American Indian.

An 1882 act of Congress opened land west of the railroad to settlers, and towns grew along the lines: Pender (1885), Thurston, and later Walthill and Rosalie on the Burlington in 1906. The area was informally called Blackbird County; the Legislature organized it as Thurston County in 1889, with Pender as seat. In 2016 the U.S. Supreme Court held in Nebraska v. Parker that Pender lies within the Omaha Reservation. The county's population peaked at 10,462 in 1930.

Towns of Thurston County

Travel Corridors

US Highway 77 — north–south through the county past Rosalie and Walthill to Winnebago, where it joins US 75 north to Dakota City and South Sioux City.

US Highway 75 — from Decatur north past Macy to Winnebago. US 75 Corridor →

NE 9, NE 16 and NE 94 — NE 9 runs north from Pender past Thurston to Emerson; NE 16 links Pender with Bancroft; NE 94 crosses the county from Pender through Walthill to US 75 near Macy.

Thurston County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Pender · Winnebago · Walthill · Macy · Rosalie · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Dakota County (north) · Dixon County (northwest) · Wayne County (west) · Cuming County (southwest) · Burt County (southeast) · Woodbury and Monona counties, Iowa (east, across the Missouri River)

Events

The Winnebago Homecoming Celebration is held at Winnebago in late July, and the Omaha Tribe's He'dewachi celebration at Macy in late August; both powwows are open to the public. Thurston County 4-H takes part in the Dakota-Thurston County Fair in South Sioux City.

Outdoors — Camping, RV, Hunting & Fishing

Thurston County has no state park, state recreation area or state wildlife management area, and Game and Parks lists no public fishing water here. The whole county lies within the Omaha and Winnebago reservations, so hunting, fishing and camping on tribal land are arranged through the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska at Macy or the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska at Winnebago, under tribal permits and rules. The Omaha Tribe runs Big Elk Park near Macy.

Camping and RV

Blue Ox RV Park, 1 Mill Rd., Pender, beside the Blue Ox towing-products plant: 50-amp pull-in and back-in sites, open to the public, with Blue Ox customers given priority on the concrete pads; about $30 a night including tax. Phone 402-385-3051. Other nearby campgrounds are at Danish Alps State Recreation Area near Hubbard and Ponca State Park.

The Missouri River and Blackbird Hill

The Missouri forms the eastern boundary, but no public boat ramp in the county is confirmed. Blackbird Hill south of Macy, burial place of Omaha chief Blackbird and visited by Lewis and Clark in 1804, is on private land and closed to the public; an overlook with exhibits is off US 75.

Golf

Twin Creeks Golf Course, 912 NE Hwy 9, north of Pender; public, opened in 1991.

Thurston County at a Glance

Thurston County, Nebraska — one of very few U.S. counties lying entirely within reservation land: the Omaha Reservation, governed from Macy, and the Winnebago Reservation, governed from Winnebago. County seat Pender.

Getting there: US 77 runs north–south past Walthill and Winnebago; US 75 serves Macy and Winnebago; NE 9 and NE 16 serve Pender; NE 94 crosses from Pender to Walthill and US 75.

For visitors: the Winnebago Homecoming Celebration each July and the Omaha Tribe's He'dewachi celebration each August are public powwows; follow the posted etiquette. The Picotte Center in Walthill, in the hospital Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte opened in 1913, is a National Historic Landmark.