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Nebraska County
Box Butte County, Nebraska
Carhenge - the Great Plains Stonehenge - from Carhenge near Alliance (the 1987 creation of Jim Reinders - 38 vintage American automobiles arranged in a circle replicating the dimensions and orientation of England's Stonehenge - Carhenge has become one of the most beloved roadside attractions in America, a monument to both ancient mystery and distinctly American automotive culture standing in the Nebraska Sandhills) to Box Butte Reservoir and Alliance's position as the commercial hub for the Nebraska Panhandle's northern reaches.
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Office: Box Butte County Emergency Management, coordinated with the City of Alliance – Alliance, NE
Services: Box Butte County dispatchers work closely with the Alliance Police Department and Nebraska State Patrol; the county is genuinely one of the few in Nebraska able to receive 911 text messages.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-385 and Nebraska Highway 2 serve Alliance, the county seat, in the western Nebraska Panhandle
Transit: Limited; Alliance Municipal Airport (a former WWII Army Air Corps training base) offers regional air service; primarily auto-dependent otherwise.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Alliance Building Forms & Permit Applications – accessible via cityofalliance.net
Notes: County-level permitting applies in unincorporated Box Butte County; the City of Alliance issues its own separate permits within city limits.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Box Butte County Veterans Service Officer – Alliance, NE
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Alliance Public Library – 1750 Sweetwater Avenue, Alliance, NE 69301 | (308) 762-1387 | Hours: Mon–Thu 8 AM–6 PM, Fri 8 AM–5 PM, Sat 10 AM–2 PM (closed Sun)
Services: Housed in the Alliance Learning Center (completed 1999); holds a collection of roughly 38,000-50,000 physical items plus ebooks and audiobooks via Libby; offers a large children’s area, technology room, and community meeting rooms; library cards available to residents within a 40-mile radius of Alliance.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Box Butte County is genuinely home to Carhenge, one of America’s most famous roadside attractions – in the summer of 1987, local farmer and engineer Jim Reinders, together with family members, built a full-scale replica of England’s Stonehenge using 38 vintage American automobiles from the 1950s and 1960s, spray-painted gray and arranged in the same 96-foot circle and proportions as the original ancient monument, as a memorial to his father; Reinders, who had studied Stonehenge while living in England, noticed that mid-century American cars were roughly the same scale as the monument’s standing stones; the site, now called the Car Art Reserve, has grown to include additional car sculptures such as “Fourd Seasons” (inspired by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons) and “Car-nestoga” (a station wagon shaped like a covered wagon honoring Oregon Trail pioneers); Carhenge was donated to the City of Alliance in 2013 and remains open year-round with free admission, drawing visitors from around the world, especially at the summer solstice
Notes: Box Butte County’s Carhenge is genuinely one of the most famous and beloved roadside oddities in the United States, making it one of the more distinctive tourist attractions found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Box Butte County GIS – accessible via boxbuttecountyne.gov
Parcel Search: Box Butte County Assessor – Alliance, NE
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Box Butte County Emergency Management and City of Alliance dispatch
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Atown Animal Shelter (City of Alliance Animal Shelter) – Alliance, NE | (308) 762-4955
Services: Operated by the Alliance Police Department; call ahead to make an appointment to visit and adopt; does not accept owner surrenders.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy – dee.nebraska.gov; groundwater and irrigation matters fall under the Upper Niobrara-White Natural Resources District rather than the county.
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Box Butte County’s Alliance is genuinely home to Carhenge, a full-scale Stonehenge replica built from vintage automobiles, one of America’s most famous roadside attractions. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Box Butte County
Box Butte County is northwest Nebraska’s Carhenge county – the 38-car arrangement replicating Stonehenge in the Nebraska Sandhills is one of America’s most beloved roadside art installations, a Great Plains monument that is simultaneously absurd and magnificent.
Alliance (the county seat, population ~8,000) is the northern Panhandle’s regional hub – the Burlington Northern railroad’s Alliance operations, Box Butte Reservoir, and Carhenge tourism anchor the Sandhills community.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Box Butte County Assessor at 515 Box Butte Avenue, Suite 203, Alliance, NE 69301, phone 308-762-6100. NE property assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Box Butte County District Court at 515 Box Butte Avenue, Alliance, NE 69301, phone 308-762-6565, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
515 Box Butte Ave., Alliance, NE 69301
(308) 762-6565
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Box Butte County Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1913 Box Butte County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Box Butte County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Box Butte County Court, Probate Division 515 Box Butte Avenue, Suite 100 (mail: P.O. Box 613), Alliance, NE 69301 (308) 762-6100
Box Butte County was founded November 2, 1886, in the Nebraska panhandle, seated in Alliance. The 1913 Box Butte County Courthouse, Beaux Arts in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Nebraska adopted the Uniform Probate Code, codified as the Nebraska Probate Code (Neb. Rev. Stat. Chapter 30). In Nebraska, the COUNTY COURT has exclusive original jurisdiction over probate matters.
Small Estate Affidavit (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125 for personal property; § 30-24,129 for real property) – as of a July 2024 statutory amendment, available when personal property does not exceed $100,000 and real property does not exceed $100,000 (both thresholds raised from $50,000). At least 30 days must have passed since death, and no application or petition for a personal representative may be pending. For personal property, the affiant presents a notarized affidavit directly to the institution holding the property along with a certified death certificate. For real property, the affidavit is filed with the register of deeds in the county where the property is located.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates, handled by the county court registrar with minimal judicial involvement.
Formal Probate – required when there’s no will, when a will’s validity is contested, or when there’s disagreement over the personal representative or how assets should be distributed. Handled by a county judge.
Step 2: filing for formal or informal probate
File an application (informal) or petition (formal) with the County Court in the county where the decedent resided.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gives direct notice to known creditors, who have a limited window from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories the estate’s assets and completes the required Probate Inventory Worksheet.
The personal representative completes and files any required Nebraska inheritance tax paperwork before the estate can be closed.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
Nebraska does not set statutory percentage-based fees; personal representative and attorney fees are generally based on reasonable compensation for time and services.
UNIQUE TO NEBRASKA: Nebraska is one of only six states with an inheritance tax, collected at the COUNTY level. Transfers to a surviving spouse are exempt; close relatives get reduced rates; more distant relatives and unrelated beneficiaries are taxed at higher rates.
No separate state estate tax.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
515 Box Butte Ave., Alliance, NE 69301
(308) 762-2422
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
515 Box Butte Ave., Alliance, NE 69301
(308) 762-6565
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NE DHHS — Box Butte
(308) 762-5400
Box Butte General Hospital
bbgh.org (Alliance — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Box Butte General Hospital – 2101 Box Butte Ave, Alliance, NE 69301, (308) 762-6660 (also serves as the area’s emergency room and public health resource)
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Alliance
Population: 10,500
Area: 1,078 sq mi
Established: 1887
Tier: 3
Public Records
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