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Nebraska County
Burt County, Nebraska
Oakland - the Swedish Capital of Nebraska - from Oakland's Swedish immigrant heritage (the Swedish immigrants who settled Oakland in Burt County established one of Nebraska's most distinctive Scandinavian communities - Oakland celebrates its Swedish heritage with the annual Swedish Festival and the VASA Order of America lodge, maintaining cultural traditions brought from Sweden in the 1880s) to Tekamah's Missouri River history and Burt County's position as one of Nebraska's oldest organized counties.
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Office: Burt County Emergency Management (BCOEM) – 111 N 13th Street, Ste. 14, Tekamah, NE 68061 | (402) 374-2924 | [email protected]
Services: Coordinates large-scale emergency incidents and maintains emergency plans in partnership with local governments, nonprofits, and private-sector organizations; participates in the Papio-Missouri River NRD’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, updated every five years per FEMA requirements.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-75 and Nebraska Highway 32 serve Tekamah, the county seat, along the west bank of the upper Missouri River
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Burt County Zoning – 111 N 13th Street, Tekamah, NE 68061
Services: Manages land use and zoning regulations, reviews development plans, and oversees construction/renovation permit issuance countywide.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Burt County Veterans Service Officer – Tekamah, NE
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Lied Tekamah Public Library – 204 S 13th Street, Tekamah, NE 68061 | (402) 374-2453
Services: Genuinely one of 69 Carnegie libraries built in Nebraska, originally constructed in 1912 through a partnership between local citizens and the Tekamah Women’s Club, with a later addition; offers animal encounters, craft nights, and community programs alongside its historic building, which is listed on the State Register of Historic Places.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Burt County is genuinely one of Nebraska’s oldest counties, formed in 1854, and its seat, Tekamah, was founded that same October by nine men who traveled north from Omaha seeking a settlement site; the name Tekamah derives from the Omaha language, most commonly translated as “big cottonwood,” a reference to the large cottonwood trees that once lined Tekamah Creek and were used to build the earliest structures in town; the city preserves an unusually dense cluster of history for its size – six historic sites in all, five of them listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Burt County Courthouse (1916, featuring a colorful mosaic floor depicting the Seal of Nebraska), the Tekamah City Bridge, the John Henry Stork Log House, the E.C. Houston House (1904, now home of the Burt County Museum), and the Spielman House; visitors can also tour the Burt County Museum’s period rooms, and nearby Silver Hills Winery and Big Cottonwood Vineyards and Winery form what locals call “Nebraska’s shortest winery tour,” just five miles apart
Notes: Burt County’s Tekamah, one of Nebraska’s oldest towns, preserves a genuinely dense concentration of 19th- and early-20th-century history for a community of its size, making it one of the more historically rich small counties found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Burt County GIS – accessible via burtcounty.ne.gov
Parcel Search: Burt County Assessor – Tekamah, NE
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Burt County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated animal shelter confirmed within Burt County, Nebraska – flagged honestly.
Contact: Burt County Sheriff’s Office – (402) 374-2900 / (402) 374-2901, handles animal-related calls; nearest dedicated shelters are in larger surrounding communities including Omaha.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy – dee.nebraska.gov
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Burt County’s Tekamah, one of Nebraska’s oldest towns (founded 1854), preserves an unusually rich concentration of historic sites for its size, including a 1912 Carnegie library. No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, and library pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Burt County
Burt County is eastern Nebraska’s Swedish heritage county – Oakland’s Swedish immigrant community has maintained Scandinavian cultural traditions for 140 years, earning the city the designation as the Swedish Capital of Nebraska.
Tekamah (the county seat, population ~1,600) and Oakland (population ~1,200) serve Burt County’s Missouri River valley communities as one of Nebraska’s oldest counties.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Burt County Assessor at 111 N. 13th Street, Tekamah, NE 68061, phone 402-374-2720. NE property assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Burt County District Court at 111 N. 13th Street, Tekamah, NE 68061, phone 402-374-2955, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
111 N. 13th St., Tekamah, NE 68061
(402) 374-2955
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Burt County Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1916-17 Burt County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark. The Burt County Museum, in the NRHP-listed E.C. Houston House, holds additional local historical records.
Local societies
No dedicated Burt County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories, though the Burt County Museum is a significant local resource.
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
Burt County Court, Probate Division 111 North 13th Street, Suite 9, Tekamah, NE 68061 (402) 374-2950
Burt County was founded November 23, 1854, named for territorial governor Francis Burt, on the Missouri River in eastern Nebraska, seated in Tekamah. The 1916-17 Burt 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
111 N. 13th St., Tekamah, NE 68061
(402) 374-1720
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
111 N. 13th St., Tekamah, NE 68061
(402) 374-2955
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Burt County Public Health services coordinated through regional Nebraska public health district; county is part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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