Banner County, Nebraska

Banner County, Nebraska
Banner County Courthouse in Harrisburg
Location in the U.S. state of Nebraska
Nebraska's location in the U.S.
Founded	1888
Seat	Harrisburg
Largest community	Harrisburg
Area
• Total	746 sq mi (1,932 km2)
• Land	746 sq mi (1,932 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (1 km2), 0.02%
Population
• (2010)	690
• Density	0.9/sq mi (0/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website	www.bannercountynegov.org

Banner County is a county in the western part of the state of Nebraska in the Great Plains region of the United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 690. Its county seat is Harrisburg; there are no incorporated municipalities within the county.

Banner County is part of the Scottsbluff, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area.

When Nebraska became a state in 1867, a single county encompassed the entire Panhandle. In 1870, the Panhandle's southern half was organized as Cheyenne County. The arrival of increasing numbers of settlers led to the partitioning of the county in 1888: the eastern third became Deuel County; the middle third became present-day Cheyenne County; and the western third became Kimball, Scotts Bluff, and Banner Counties. The last of these was named by citizens who declared it would become the state's "banner county", and "the brightest star in the constellation of Nebraska counties".

The initial settlement of the area was by cattle ranchers, drawn by good pastures in the Pumpkin Creek valley. In the late 1880s, these open-range ranchers were displaced by an influx of settlers; by 1890, almost every quarter-section (160 acres, or 65 ha) was claimed by homesteaders. However, the good moisture years that had attracted these settlers were followed by a severe drought in 1893 and 1894, which drove many of the new settlers away again; the number of farms in the county declined by more than half, from 565 in 1890 to 226 in 1900. The land thus vacated was again used by ranchers, who raised both crops and cattle. The 1904 passage of the Kinkaid Act, which allowed homesteaders to claim 640 acres (260 ha) brought a new wave of settlers; however, even these larger tracts were often insufficient to support a family, and many of the Kinkaid claims were eventually sold to established cattle ranchers.