Blaine County is a county in Nebraska, United States, set in the Sandhills of the north-central part of the state. It had a population of 431 at the 2020 census and covers 714 square miles (1,850 km2) centred near 41°55′55″N 99°59′47″W.
Brewster is the county seat; its postal code is 68821. The county has 2 incorporated villages (Brewster and Dunning) and 2 unincorporated communities (Purdum and Linscott), plus the western fringe of Halsey. Blaine County sits in the Central time zone; its FIPS code is 31009.
Towns & Villages in Blaine County
Five named places appear on maps of Blaine County: two incorporated villages and three unincorporated communities. Every one of them is small — Dunning, the largest, has fewer than 200 residents, and the county as a whole is 100% rural. CDP = census-designated place; Unincorp. = unincorporated community with no municipal government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunning | Village | 142 | 68833 |
| Brewster | Village · seat | 17 | 68821 |
| Purdum | Unincorp. | — | 69157 |
| Linscott | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Halsey (part) | Unincorp. | — | — |
Halsey itself sits mostly across the county line in Thomas County; only its eastern edge and the surrounding Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest extend into Blaine County, so the village’s own population and ZIP code (69142) are counted under Thomas County, not listed above as Blaine’s.
ZIP Codes
- 68821 — Brewster post office
- 68833 — Dunning post office
- 69157 — Purdum post office
Linscott and the Blaine County portion of Halsey have no post office of their own and are served by the Dunning or Thomas County (Halsey, 69142) ZIPs depending on location.
Geography
Blaine County lies entirely within the Nebraska Sandhills, a landscape of stabilized grass-covered dunes with almost no surface streams outside the Middle Loup River, which crosses the county roughly west to east and supplies most of its wetlands and sub-irrigated meadows. The Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest, a hand-planted stand of ponderosa pine and eastern red cedar begun in 1902 on the north bank of the Middle Loup, extends into the county’s western edge near Halsey. The county covers 714 square miles, of which 711 square miles is land and about 4 square miles is water.
Blaine County borders Cherry County to the north, Brown County to the northeast, Loup County to the east, Custer County to the southeast, Logan County to the south, and Thomas County to the west.
Demographics
Blaine County had 431 residents at the 2020 census, making it the third-least populous county in Nebraska. Dunning, the largest village, and Brewster, the county seat, together account for most of that population; the rest is scattered across ranches. Median household income in the county runs well below the Nebraska median of $74,590, reflecting a small, aging, entirely rural population (median age 49.2 in 2020). Population density is roughly 0.6 people per square mile, among the lowest of any county in the contiguous United States.
Economy & Local Life
Cattle ranching drives the local economy; the Sandhills’ sandy, grass-stabilized soil is unsuited to row-crop farming but produces some of the best native grazing land in the Great Plains. The Bessey Nursery, operated by the U.S. Forest Service near Halsey, has grown seedlings for shelterbelt and forest planting across the Plains since the early 1900s and remains a local employer and visitor draw. Brewster’s county courthouse and the small businesses along Dunning’s main street are the county’s main commercial anchors.
History
Blaine County was created on March 5, 1885, and organized the following year, taking its name from Maine senator and 1884 Republican presidential candidate James G. Blaine. Serious settlement lagged until after the federal Kinkaid Act of 1904, which offered 640-acre homesteads in the Sandhills — four times the standard claim — because the region’s grazing-only soil could not support a family on a standard 160 acres. Ranching, rather than the row-crop farming common further east in Nebraska, has defined the county ever since.
Getting There
Nebraska Highway 2 runs through the northern part of the county past Halsey and the national forest; Nebraska Highway 91 and Highway 91A serve Brewster and Dunning further south.
- Broken Bow — about 35 miles southeast
- Thedford — about 25 miles west
- Ainsworth — about 45 miles north
- North Platte — about 75 miles southwest
The nearest commercial airport is North Platte Regional Airport; there is no Amtrak service in Blaine County.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Blaine County, Nebraska?
It is in the Sandhills of north-central Nebraska, centred near 41°55′55″N 99°59′47″W, about 35 miles northwest of Broken Bow.
What is the population of Blaine County?
431, at the 2020 census — the third-least populous county in Nebraska.
How big is Blaine County?
714 square miles (1,850 km2), of which about 4 square miles is water.
What is the county seat of Blaine County?
Brewster, a village of 17 people.
How many towns are in Blaine County?
Two incorporated villages, Brewster and Dunning, plus the unincorporated communities of Purdum and Linscott and a small part of Halsey.
What ZIP codes are in Blaine County?
68821 (Brewster), 68833 (Dunning), and 69157 (Purdum).
Why is it called Blaine County?
It is named for James G. Blaine, the Maine senator and Republican presidential candidate of 1884.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Nebraska.