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Nebraska County
Colfax County, Nebraska
Schuyler's Cargill meatpacking and Czech-Slovak heritage - from the Cargill beef processing plant in Schuyler (one of Nebraska's significant beef processing operations, the Schuyler Cargill plant has attracted a large Latino and immigrant workforce that has transformed Schuyler's demographics and made Colfax County one of Nebraska's most diverse rural counties) to Clarkson's Czech-Slovak heritage (the Czech and Slovak immigrants who settled Colfax County in the late 19th century established a cohesive Bohemian community whose annual Czech Festival in Clarkson celebrates Central European traditions).
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Office: Colfax County Emergency Management – 411 E 11th Street, Schuyler, NE 68661 | (402) 352-7958 | Director: Mark Arps
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-30 and Nebraska Highway 15 serve Schuyler, the county seat, in east-central Nebraska
Transit: No driver license/DMV services are provided directly in Colfax County; residents are directed to nearby Platte County. Primarily auto-dependent otherwise.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Colfax County Planning and Zoning Department – Schuyler, NE, (402) 352-8505
Notes: Handles building permits, land use permits, and related zoning matters for the county; the City of Clarkson issues its own separate municipal permits.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Colfax County Veterans Service Officer – Schuyler, NE
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Schuyler Public Library – 108 E [Street], Schuyler, NE
Services: Serves Schuyler and the surrounding Colfax County area; offers Libby ebooks/audiobooks, free NebraskAccess databases, interlibrary loan, genealogy resources, and ESL classes through the Platte Valley Literacy Association; the historic 1911 Schuyler Carnegie Library building, later home to the Colfax County Historical Society Museum, was unfortunately demolished in 2022 despite its National Register of Historic Places listing.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Colfax County genuinely carries an unusual naming distinction few Nebraska counties can claim – when the Legislature created the county in 1869 (carved from the eastern portion of Platte County), it named the new county after Schuyler Colfax, then sitting Vice President of the United States under Ulysses S. Grant, while separately naming the county seat “Schuyler” also in his honor, making it one of the only places in the country doubly named for the same person’s first and last name; the town began as a Union Pacific Railroad depot called Shell Creek Station before its 1870 renaming, and that same year Texas cattlemen began driving herds north to Schuyler’s stockyards, briefly making it one of Nebraska’s earliest “cow towns,” with more than 40,000 cattle passing through its chutes in a single year before drought and a grasshopper invasion ended the boom; today Colfax County’s economy is anchored by one of the region’s largest beef processing facilities, a Cargill plant (originally opened by Spencer Foods in 1969) that employs roughly 2,000-2,150 workers and has driven substantial community growth and cultural diversity in Schuyler over recent decades
Notes: Colfax County’s Schuyler is genuinely doubly named for Vice President Schuyler Colfax – an unusual distinction in American place-naming – and traces a direct line from 1870s cattle-drive boomtown to a modern beef-processing hub.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Colfax County GIS – accessible via colfaxcountyne.gov
Parcel Search: Colfax County Assessor – Schuyler, NE
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Colfax County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated animal shelter confirmed within Colfax County, Nebraska – flagged honestly (note: a “Humane Society of Schuyler County” exists but is located in Schuyler County, New York, an unrelated jurisdiction – do not confuse the two, as Colfax County’s seat is also named Schuyler).
Contact: Colfax County Sheriff’s Office handles animal-related calls; nearest dedicated shelters are in larger surrounding communities.
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
Colfax County is genuinely doubly named for Vice President Schuyler Colfax (county and county seat alike), and its seat began as a 19th-century cattle-drive boomtown. No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed – note that a similarly named “Humane Society of Schuyler County” is actually located in Schuyler County, New York, not Colfax County, Nebraska. 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 Colfax County
Colfax County is east-central Nebraska’s Czech heritage and meatpacking diversity county – Clarkson’s Bohemian traditions and Schuyler’s Cargill workforce immigration have given this Platte River valley county a dual cultural identity.
Schuyler (the county seat, population ~6,200) has been transformed by meatpacking workforce immigration – the community’s Latino population gives it a diversity exceptional for rural Nebraska.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Colfax County Assessor at 411 E. 11th Street, Suite 2, Schuyler, NE 68661, phone 402-352-8500. NE property assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Colfax County District Court at 411 E. 11th Street, Schuyler, NE 68661, phone 402-352-8519, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
411 E. 11th St., Schuyler, NE 68661
(402) 352-8500
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Colfax County Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1921-22 Colfax County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Colfax 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
Colfax County Court, Probate Division 411 East 11th Street (mail: P.O. Box 191), Schuyler, NE 68661 (402) 352-8511
Colfax County was founded February 15, 1869, named for former Vice President Schuyler Colfax, in east-central Nebraska, seated in Schuyler. The 1921-22 Colfax County Courthouse, Renaissance Revival 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
411 E. 11th St., Schuyler, NE 68661
(402) 352-3434
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
411 E. 11th St., Schuyler, NE 68661
(402) 352-8500
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Colfax County Public Health services coordinated through regional Nebraska public health district; Memorial Hospital (Alegent Health) provides local medical care in Schuyler.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Schuyler
Population: 10,500
Area: 409 sq mi
Established: 1869
Tier: 3
Public Records
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