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Nebraska County
Dawson County, Nebraska
Lexington's Tyson beef plant and the 100th Meridian - from the Lexington Tyson Foods beef processing plant (the massive Tyson beef processing facility in Lexington transformed the community's demographics in the 1990s - drawing thousands of Latino and Somali immigrant workers and making Lexington one of Nebraska's most diverse small cities) to the 100th Meridian at Cozad (the 100th Meridian of longitude - the traditional line between the humid East and the arid West - passes through Cozad, Nebraska, and the city has embraced this geographic distinction - the transition zone where reliable rainfall gives way to the Great Plains aridity that made western settlement so difficult) and Gothenburg's Pony Express station.
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Office: Dawson County Emergency Management – 700 N Washington, Room N, Lexington, NE 68850 | (308) 324-2070
Services: Coordinates disaster preparedness; operates the AlertSense community notification system for evacuation notices, boil-water advisories, and other emergency alerts.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: Interstate 80 and US-283 serve Lexington, the county seat, along the Platte River in south-central Nebraska
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Dawson County Planning and Zoning – Dawson County Courthouse, 700 North Washington Street, Lexington, NE 68850
Services: Reviews building permits, enforces zoning laws, and guides land use planning; the Dawson County Roads Department separately issues driveway, utility crossing, and building-moving permits.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Dawson County Veterans Service Officer – Lexington, NE
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Dawson County Library system serves Lexington and surrounding communities including Cozad and Gothenburg – confirm current branch hours directly.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Dawson County’s seat, Lexington, was originally settled as “Plum Creek,” a stage station and Pony Express stop along the Oregon Trail on the south bank of the Platte River; the community was renamed Lexington in 1889 in honor of a historic Revolutionary-era battle. The surrounding Platte Valley carries deep significance in the history of westward expansion, having been traversed by both the Mormon Trail (north side of the Platte) and the Oregon Trail with the transcontinental railroad following close behind; the area is historically associated with the 1864 “Plum Creek” incident along the Oregon Trail near the Dawson-Phelps county line, an armed conflict between a Cheyenne and Arapaho war party and a westbound wagon train that many historians point to as a catalyst for the broader regional conflicts of that era; period artifacts and firsthand survivor accounts are preserved today by the Dawson County Historical Society Museum in Lexington
Notes: Dawson County’s location along the convergence of the Mormon and Oregon Trails, and its proximity to a pivotal and well-documented 1864 historical event, makes it one of the more historically significant transportation corridors of the westward expansion era found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Dawson County GIS – accessible via dawsoncountyne.gov
Parcel Search: Dawson County Register of Deeds – Room D, Dawson County Courthouse, Lexington, NE
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Dawson County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Dawson County Humane Society – Lexington, NE
Services: A no-kill shelter (since September 2012) founded in 2008; provides shelter and basic needs for the county’s homeless dogs and cats; note this shelter has no authority to pick up strays – for stray pickup, contact Dawson County Animal Control directly. Note also that similarly named “Lexington Humane Society” and “Lexington County Animal Services” organizations exist in Lexington, Kentucky and Lexington County, South Carolina, respectively – unrelated jurisdictions, not to be confused with Dawson County, Nebraska.
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
Dawson County’s Lexington sits at a historically significant crossroads of the Mormon and Oregon Trails along the Platte River, an area closely tied to the 1864 regional conflicts of the westward expansion era. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Dawson County
Dawson County is south-central Nebraska’s 100th Meridian and meatpacking diversity county – Cozad straddles the geographic line between East and West, and Lexington’s Tyson plant transformed the community into one of Nebraska’s most diverse small cities.
Lexington (the county seat, population ~10,000) has become one of Nebraska’s most culturally diverse communities through meatpacking workforce immigration – the transformation from homogeneous farm town to multicultural city has been dramatic.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Dawson County Assessor at 700 N. Washington Street, Suite 3, Lexington, NE 68850, phone 308-324-3371. NE property assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Dawson County District Court at 700 N. Washington Street, Lexington, NE 68850, phone 308-324-2621, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
700 N. Washington St., Lexington, NE 68850
(308) 324-3070
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Dawson County Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Dawson 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
Dawson County Court, Probate Division 700 North Washington Street, Lexington, NE 68850 (308) 324-5606 Dawson County is in south-central Nebraska, seated in Lexington.
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
700 N. Washington St., Lexington, NE 68850
(308) 324-4934
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
700 N. Washington St., Lexington, NE 68850
(308) 324-3070
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NE DHHS — Dawson
(308) 324-3170
Lexington Regional Health Center
lrhc.org (Lexington — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Dawson County Public Health services coordinated through regional Nebraska public health district; Lexington Regional Health Center serves the community.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Lexington
Population: 24,000
Area: 1,012 sq mi
Established: 1871
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Dawson County residents.
