Pawnee City in Pawnee County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Pawnee City
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021
1. Pawnee City Marker
Pawnee City, the county seat of Pawnee County, was platted and the first lots were sold in the spring of 1857. The county, named for the Pawnee Indians who lived in Nebraska for generations, was defined by the territorial legislature on March 3, 1855. This site was designated as the county seat when the county was organized at a November 4, 1856 election. A permanent courthouse of limestone construction was completed in 1869. Pawnee City’s population was 763 by 1880.
A disastrous fire in August of 1881 destroyed two-thirds of the business district which was rebuilt primarily with fireproof construction during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Fifty-six structures in a six-block area, including the 1911 county courthouse, are included within the Pawnee City Historic Business District listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. Pawnee City has been home to several notable individuals including Nebraska’s first state governor David Butler, U.S. Senator Kenneth Wherry, silent film legend, Harold Lloyd, TV’s “Irish” McCalla, who portrayed “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle,” and comedian Dan Whitney, better known as “Larry the Cable Guy.”
Erected 2010 by Nebraska State Historical Society and Promoters of Pawnee City. (Marker Number 481.)
Topics and series.
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Location. 40° 6.577′ N, 96° 9.198′ W. Marker is in Pawnee City, Nebraska, in Pawnee County. Marker is on 7th Street (Nebraska Route 8) just west of G Street, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located in a small grassy plaza along the south side of the Pawnee City Post Office. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 715 G Street, Pawnee City NE 68420, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. St John's Catholic Church (approx. 5.7 miles away); Village of Steinauer (approx. 6.7 miles away); St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church (approx. 7.9 miles away); N.A. Steinauer Home (approx. 7.9 miles away); Convent House Bed & Breakfast (approx. 7.9 miles away); Jailhouse
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021
2. Pawnee City Marker
Also see . . .
1. Pawnee City. City website homepage (Submitted on April 13, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
2. The Big Pawnee City Fire • August 9, 1881. Pawnee County History website entry:
Three wearisome hours of toil and dismay after the unexpected holocaust had first begun, over half the Pawnee City businesses were lost, 26 shops burned into puny grey heaps of charcoal and ashes. Destruction was estimated at $50,000, with perhaps only a quarter of the damaged property insured. (Submitted on July 8, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021
3. Pawnee City Post Office (built 1940)
National Register of Historic Places #92000472
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021
4. Pawnee City Carnegie Library (built 1907)
National Register of Historic Places #10001004
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021
5. Pawnee County Courthouse (built 1911)
National Register of Historic Places #89002232
Credits. This page was last revised on May 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 8, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 213 times since then and 28 times this year. Last updated on May 14, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 8, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
