# Cherry County, Nebraska

Cherry County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 5,455. Its county seat is Valentine. The county was named for Lt. Samuel A. Cherry, an Army officer who was stationed at Fort Niobrara and was killed in South Dakota in 1881. Cherry County is in the Nebraska Sandhills. It is the state's largest county, at nearly 6,000 square miles (16,000 km$^2$), larger than three states, Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut. In the Nebraska license plate system, Cherry County is represented by the prefix 66 (it had the 66th-most vehicles registered in the state when the system was established in 1922).

## Geography

Cherry County lies on the north side of Nebraska. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of South Dakota. According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of 6,009 square miles (15,560 km$^2$), of which 5,960 square miles (15,400 km$^2$) is land and 49 square miles (130 km$^2$) (0.8%) is water. It is by far Nebraska's largest county in land area and larger than the state of Connecticut, or the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The county is in Nebraska's Sandhills region; the dunes that give the region its name are a result of the most recent glacial period, the Pinedale glaciation. During the Holocene glacial retreat, the dunes, which had been deposited by the vast continental glaciers, were exposed, and grasses eventually took over.

### Major highways

* U.S. Highway 20
* U.S. Highway 83
* Nebraska Highway 12
* Nebraska Highway 61
* Nebraska Highway 97

### National protected areas

* Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge
** Fort Niobrara Wilderness
* Niobrara National Scenic River (part)
* Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest
* Valentine National Wildlife Refuge

### State protected areas

* Bowring Ranch State Historical Park
* Cottonwood Lake State Recreation Area
* Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area
* Smith Falls State Park

### Adjacent counties

Nebraska's largest county by area, Cherry County borders 11 counties, more than any other county in Nebraska. Seven of them are in Nebraska and four in South Dakota. The adjacent counties are:
* Bennett County, South Dakota – north
* Todd County, South Dakota – north
* Tripp County, South Dakota – northeast
* Brown County – east
* Keya Paha County – east
* Blaine County – southeast
* Grant County – south
* Thomas County – south
* Hooker County – south
* Sheridan County – west
* Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota – northwest

## Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 6,148 people, 2,508 households, and 1,710 families in the county. The population density was 1.02 people per square mile (0.39 people/km$^2$). There were 3,220 housing units at an average density of 0 units per square mile (0/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 94.19% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 3.25% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.5% were of German, 12.6% English, 11.1% Irish and 7.3% American ancestry.
There were 2,508 households, out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.98.
The county population contained 27.00% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,268, and the median income for a family was $36,500. Males had a median income of $23,705 versus $17,277 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,943. About 9.60% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.40% of those under age 18 and 14.20% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities
### City

* Valentine (county seat)

### Villages

* Cody
* Crookston
* Kilgore
* Merriman
* Nenzel
* Wood Lake

### Census-designated place

* Brownlee

### Other unincorporated communities

* DeWitty
* Elsmere
* Sparks
* Thatcher
* Barley

### Notable ranches

* Abbott Ranch
* Bowring Ranch
* Spade Ranch
* Sunny Slope Ranch

## Time zones

Cherry County residents observe two time zones, Central and Mountain. The eastern third of the county, including county seat Valentine, is in the Central Time Zone, while the western two thirds, including Merriman, are in the Mountain Time Zone.

## Politics

Cherry County voters are reliably Republican. The county has not voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 landslide, and even then, the county was decided by less than four points. Republicans have carried the county by a double-digit margin in every presidential election since, and no Democratic nominee since Harry S. Truman in 1948 has even mustered 40% of the vote. Republicans also hold a massive advantage in voter registration in Cherry County, with 2,947, as opposed to 325 registered Democrats.
United States presidential election results for Cherry County, Nebraska :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 2,687 | 87.30% | 349 | 11.34% | 42 | 1.36% |
| 2020 | 2,844 | 87.00% | 373 | 11.41% | 52 | 1.59% |
| 2016 | 2,623 | 84.12% | 317 | 10.17% | 178 | 5.71% |
| 2012 | 2,557 | 83.45% | 436 | 14.23% | 71 | 2.32% |
| 2008 | 2,360 | 77.15% | 599 | 19.58% | 100 | 3.27% |
| 2004 | 2,509 | 82.48% | 483 | 15.88% | 50 | 1.64% |
| 2000 | 2,322 | 81.56% | 446 | 15.67% | 79 | 2.77% |
| 1996 | 1,905 | 68.04% | 551 | 19.68% | 344 | 12.29% |
| 1992 | 1,707 | 56.75% | 563 | 18.72% | 738 | 24.53% |
| 1988 | 2,240 | 77.35% | 642 | 22.17% | 14 | 0.48% |
| 1984 | 2,720 | 85.05% | 463 | 14.48% | 15 | 0.47% |
| 1980 | 2,517 | 79.78% | 489 | 15.50% | 149 | 4.72% |
| 1976 | 2,197 | 68.83% | 906 | 28.38% | 89 | 2.79% |
| 1972 | 2,610 | 84.93% | 463 | 15.07% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 2,199 | 73.23% | 582 | 19.38% | 222 | 7.39% |
| 1964 | 2,244 | 61.11% | 1,428 | 38.89% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 2,695 | 72.08% | 1,044 | 27.92% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 2,414 | 73.20% | 884 | 26.80% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 3,148 | 76.63% | 960 | 23.37% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 2,141 | 58.93% | 1,492 | 41.07% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1944 | 2,314 | 62.80% | 1,371 | 37.20% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 2,705 | 60.30% | 1,781 | 39.70% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 1,874 | 47.58% | 2,010 | 51.03% | 55 | 1.40% |
| 1932 | 1,754 | 37.30% | 2,912 | 61.92% | 37 | 0.79% |
| 1928 | 2,905 | 69.04% | 1,285 | 30.54% | 18 | 0.43% |
| 1924 | 1,663 | 43.69% | 1,169 | 30.71% | 974 | 25.59% |
| 1920 | 1,636 | 66.37% | 711 | 28.84% | 118 | 4.79% |
| 1916 | 1,091 | 36.44% | 1,734 | 57.92% | 169 | 5.64% |
| 1912 | 679 | 25.90% | 1,047 | 39.93% | 896 | 34.17% |
| 1908 | 1,048 | 48.34% | 1,021 | 47.09% | 99 | 4.57% |
| 1904 | 978 | 66.94% | 325 | 22.25% | 158 | 10.81% |
| 1900 | 922 | 55.24% | 698 | 41.82% | 49 | 2.94% |