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'Douglas County' is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is the state's most populous county, home to over one-fourth of Nebraska's residents. As of 2000, the population was 463,585. The 2006 census estimate placed the population at 492,003. Its county seat is Omaha⁶, the state's largest city. It is one of five Nebraska counties in the eight-county Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area.^[1]
In the Nebraska license plate system, Douglas County was represented by the prefix 1 (it had the largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922). In 2002, the state discontinued the 1922 system in Douglas, Sarpy and Lancaster counties.

Contents

Geography

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Government

History

Cities and villages

References

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 880 km² (340 mi²). 857 km² (331 mi²) of it is land and 22 km² (9 mi²) of it (2.54%) is water.

Adjacent counties

★ Dodge County, Nebraska - (northwest)

★ Washington County, Nebraska - (north)

★ Pottawattamie County, Iowa - (east)

★ Sarpy County, Nebraska - (south)

★ Saunders County, Nebraska - (west)

Demographics

'Douglas County Population by decade'

1860 - 4,328 1870 - 19,982 1880 - 37,645 1890 - 158,008 1900 - 140,590 1910 - 168,546 1920 - 204,524 1930 - 232,982 1940 - 247,562 1950 - 281,020 1960 - 343,490 1970 - 389,455 1980 - 397,038 1990 - 416,444 2000 - 463,585

As of the census² of 2000, there were 463,585 people, 182,194 households, and 115,146 families residing in the county. The population density was 541/km² (1,401/mi²). There were 192,672 housing units at an average density of 225/km² (582/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.96% White, 11.50% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.40% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. 6.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 182,194 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.50% were married couples living together, 12.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.80% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 31.20% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,209, and the median income for a family was $54,651. Males had a median income of $36,577 versus $27,265 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,879. About 6.70% of families and 9.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.00% of those under age 18 and 7.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Douglas County is governed by a board of seven county commissioners, elected to four year terms. County courthouse positions are also elected on a partisan basis.

District	Commissioner
1	Mike Boyle
2	Pam Tusa
3	Chris Rodgers
4	Kyle Hutchings
5	Chip Maxwell
6	Mary Ann Borgeson
7	Clare Duda

Office	Officeholder
County Assessor	Roger Morrissey
County Attorney	Don Kleine
County Clerk	Tom Cavanaugh
Clerk of the District Court	John Friend
County Engineer	Tom Doyle
Register of Deeds	Diane Battiato
County Sheriff	Tim Dunning
County Treasurer	John W. Ewing
Public Defender	Tom Riley

History

Douglas County was established in 1855. It was named after Stephen Arnold Douglas (1813-1861). He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1842. Mr. Douglas was a tremendous speaker and he became an outstanding spokesman for a policy of national expansion. Stephen Douglas was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1847, from the State of Illinois. Senator Douglas introduced the bill in 1854 that created the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This act made Kansas and Nebraska organized territories and allowed them to determine whether to be a free state or slave state by 'popular sovereignty'. It also repealed the Missouri Compromise, which stated that slavery was prohibited north of 36-30' latitude. The Missouri Compromise had previously kept the number of free and slave states numerically equal. In 1858, while campaigning for a third term as a U.S. Senator, Douglas was opposed by Abraham Lincoln, his business and law partner. They engaged in a momentous series of debates on the slavery issue. Douglas, known as the "little giant" was reelected, but Lincoln gained a national reputation. In 1860, Douglas won the Democratic Party nomination for President. Southern Democrats nominated their own candidate and the split in the Party resulted in the election of the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln. When the American Civil War broke out, Douglas gave Lincoln loyal support.

Cities and villages

★ Bennington

★ Boys Town

★ Omaha

★ Ralston

★ Valley

★ Waterloo

References