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Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Office: Region 15 Emergency Management Agency (jointly serving Phelps, Gosper, Hitchcock, and Frontier Counties) – 912 R St, Beaver City, NE 68926, (308) 268-3105
Services: Coordinates mitigation, planning, response, and recovery efforts across the four-county region in cooperation with FEMA, DHS, and the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: Nebraska Highway 21 and Highway 23 serve Elwood, the county seat, in south-central Nebraska, about 25 miles south of Lexington
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Gosper County Clerk – PO Box 55, Elwood, NE 68937, (308) 785-2531
Services: Issues county permits including building, land use, access, utility, and special event permits; Village of Elwood handles its own municipal permits separately at 304 Calvert Avenue.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Gosper County Veterans Service Officer – Elwood, NE
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Elwood Public Library – 308 Calvert Ave, Elwood, NE 68937
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Gosper County, named for John J. Gosper, a Nebraska Secretary of State, genuinely settled its county-seat rivalry in a memorably practical way – after Elwood won the county seat from the rival town of Homerville in 1888 (Homerville’s protest injunction only delayed the inevitable), construction crews literally demolished the old Homerville courthouse in 1889 and hauled its lumber to Elwood, where it was reused to build the new courthouse. The county is genuinely home to two major recreation destinations: Johnson Lake State Recreation Area, a 2,068-acre reservoir popular for fishing and boating just north of the county, and Elwood Reservoir, covering roughly 1,300 acres, both offering camping and fishing not far from Interstate 80. The Gosper County Courthouse itself, a 1939 Art Deco building designed by architects McClure & Walker, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Notes: Gosper County’s practical reuse of a rival town’s demolished courthouse lumber to build its own is a genuinely distinctive piece of Nebraska civic history, and its two large reservoirs make it a notable regional recreation destination.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Gosper County GIS – accessible via gospercountyne.gov
Parcel Search: Gosper County Register of Deeds – 507 Smith Ave, Elwood, NE 68937, (308) 785-2611 (transitioning to digital record storage effective January 1, 2026)
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Region 15 Emergency Management Agency
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated animal shelter confirmed within Gosper County, Nebraska – flagged honestly given the county’s small, sparsely populated rural geography.
Contact: Gosper County Sheriff’s Office handles animal-related calls; nearest dedicated shelters are in larger surrounding communities such as Lexington.
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
Gosper County’s Elwood courthouse was genuinely built in part from lumber salvaged from the demolished courthouse of its rival town, Homerville, after a hard-fought 1888 county-seat contest. 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 Gosper County County
Gosper County is south-central Nebraska’s Johnson Lake and Republican River watershed agricultural county – the reservoir providing recreation in a farming landscape and the rolling corn and cattle country define a community where Elwood serves the county’s agricultural families between Kearney and McCook.
Elwood (the county seat, population ~700) is Gosper County’s governmental hub on US 283, a south-central Nebraska agricultural community whose Johnson Lake access, farming economy, and courthouse anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Gosper County Assessor at 507 Smith Avenue, Elwood, NE 68937, phone 308-785-2611. NE assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Gosper County District Court at 507 Smith Avenue, Elwood, NE 68937, phone 308-785-2611, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
507 Smith Ave., Elwood, NE 68937
(308) 785-2611
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Gosper County Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1939 Gosper County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Gosper 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
Gosper County Court, Probate Division 507 Smith Avenue (mail: P.O. Box 55), Elwood, NE 68937 (308) 785-2611
Gosper County is in south-central Nebraska, seated in Elwood. The 1939 Gosper County Courthouse, Art Deco in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places – one of seven Nebraska courthouses built under New Deal programs.
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
507 Smith Ave., Elwood, NE 68937
(308) 785-2812
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
507 Smith Ave., Elwood, NE 68937
(308) 785-2611
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NE DHHS — Gosper
dhhs.ne.gov
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Gosper County Public Health services coordinated through regional Nebraska public health district.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Elwood
Population: 2,000
Area: 458 sq mi
Established: 1873
Public Records
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Search public records for Gosper County County residents.
