Box Butte County was formed as part of a series of partitionings of the Nebraska Panhandle. In 1883, the Nebraska legislature divided the Panhandle into two counties, Sioux and Cheyenne. In 1885 the original Sioux County was divided into three counties: Sioux, Dawes, and Sheridan. Because of the distance to the county seat of Chadron, residents of southern Dawes County asked that it be split off; in 1886, the legislature created Box Butte County. The new county was named after a butte in the northern part of the county; prior to the county's formation, its name had been used in advertisements by railroad companies seeking to entice settlers to the area. In the Nebraska license plate system, Box Butte County is represented by the prefix 65.
Geography
According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of, of which is land and is water.
As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 12,158 people, 4,780 households, and 3,298 families in the county. The population density was 11 people per square mile. There were 5,488 housing units at an average density of 5 per square ;mile. The racial makeup of the county was 90.84% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 2.74% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. 7.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 36.4% were of German, 8.4% English, 8.1% Irish and 5.3% American ancestry. There were 4,780 households out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couplesliving together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.00% were non-families. 27.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.05. The county population contained 28.10% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,366, and the median income for a family was $46,670. Males had a median income of $36,966 versus $21,762 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,407. About 9.70% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.70% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.
Box Butte County voters have been reliably Republican for decades; since 1940, the county has selected the Republican Partypresidential candidate in every national election.
