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Nebraska County
Jefferson County, Nebraska
Fairbury's Rock Creek Station and the killing of Wild Bill Hickok's first gunfight - from Rock Creek Station State Historical Park (the Oregon Trail station near Fairbury where in July 1861, James Butler Hickok - not yet known as Wild Bill - killed David McCanles in the first documented gunfight of his career, an incident that launched the legend of Wild Bill Hickok and has been debated by historians ever since - the preserved station site with its original Oregon Trail ruts is one of Nebraska's most historically evocative sites) to Jefferson County's productive Republican River valley agriculture.
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Office: Jefferson County Emergency Management – 313 South K St, Fairbury, NE 68352 | (402) 729-3602
Services: Maintains a county public emergency notification system that residents can sign up for.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US Highway 136 and Nebraska Highway 15 serve Fairbury, the county seat, in southeastern Nebraska near the Kansas border
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Administrator – 313 South K Street, Fairbury, NE 68352, (402) 729-3602 | Office Hours: 8:00 AM–12 PM and 1–5 PM
Services: Handles zoning regulations and permit applications; county GIS mapping (Beacon) covers zoning districts, floodplains, voting districts, and wellhead protection areas.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Jefferson County Veterans Service Officer – Fairbury, NE
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Fairbury Public Library – 601 7th Street, Fairbury, NE 68352
Services: Genuinely a historic Carnegie library, constructed 1908-09 with funding from the Carnegie Corporation and designed in the Classical Revival style; listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Jefferson County, named for President Thomas Jefferson, is genuinely home to one of the most storied sites in Old West history – Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, a 353-acre site preserving the actual location where, on July 12, 1861, a young stockhand named James Butler Hickok shot and killed station owner David McCanles during an argument over an unpaid debt, an event that launched Hickok’s legendary career as “Wild Bill” Hickok, one of the most famous gunfighters of the American West. Rock Creek Station itself served as a genuine waystation on the Oregon-California Trail beginning in 1857, later becoming a Pony Express relay station in 1860-61 and an Overland Stage stop; today visitors can walk on the actual, deeply carved wagon ruts left by thousands of pioneer wagons, tour reconstructed East and West Ranch buildings including a bunkhouse, barn, blacksmith forge, and toll bridge, and visit the on-site visitor center. The 1890 Jefferson County Courthouse, designed by architect J.C. Holland in the Romanesque style and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, features a five-foot diameter clock tower installed in 1910 whose bell, affectionately called “Little Ben,” still tolls every hour today
Notes: Jefferson County’s Rock Creek Station is genuinely one of the most historically significant sites connected to the birth of the “Wild Bill” Hickok legend anywhere in the American West.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Jefferson County GIS (Beacon) – accessible via jeffersoncounty.nebraska.gov
Parcel Search: Jefferson County Assessor – 411 4th Street, Fairbury, NE 68352, (402) 729-6833
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Jefferson County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated general-admission animal shelter confirmed within Jefferson County, Nebraska. Homeless Cats No More, a cat-focused rescue based in Fairbury, is a regionally recognized volunteer resource – flagged honestly given its narrower scope.
Note: Multiple similarly named “Jefferson County Humane Society” organizations exist in Ohio, Missouri, and Wisconsin – none are affiliated with or located in Jefferson County, Nebraska.
Contact: Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office handles animal-related calls; nearby Beatrice Humane Society (Gage County) also serves the broader region.
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
Jefferson County’s Rock Creek Station State Historical Park genuinely preserves the site where “Wild Bill” Hickok’s legendary gunfighting career began in 1861, alongside actual Oregon Trail wagon ruts. No dedicated general-admission county animal shelter was confirmed – note that similarly named “Jefferson County Humane Society” organizations in Ohio, Missouri, and Wisconsin are unrelated. 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 Jefferson County
Jefferson County is south-central Nebraska’s Wild Bill Hickok and Oregon Trail county – Rock Creek Station near Fairbury was where James Hickok fought his first gunfight in 1861, launching the legend of Wild Bill, and the preserved Oregon Trail ruts make it one of Nebraska’s most evocative frontier heritage sites.
Fairbury (the county seat, population ~3,600) is the gateway to Rock Creek Station – the Oregon Trail ruts and Wild Bill Hickok connection draw heritage tourists to the south-central Nebraska Republican River valley.
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Jefferson County Assessor at 411 4th Street, Suite 1, Fairbury, NE 68352, phone 402-729-6833. NE property assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Jefferson County District Court at 411 4th Street, Fairbury, NE 68352, phone 402-729-6833, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
411 4th St., Fairbury, NE 68352
(402) 729-2323
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Jefferson County Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Jefferson 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
Jefferson County Court, Probate Division 411 4th Street, Fairbury, NE 68352 (402) 729-6807 Jefferson County is in southeastern Nebraska on the Kansas border, seated in Fairbury.
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 4th St., Fairbury, NE 68352
(402) 729-2335
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
411 4th St., Fairbury, NE 68352
(402) 729-2323
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Jefferson County Public Health services coordinated through regional Nebraska public health district.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Fairbury
Population: 7,300
Area: 573 sq mi
Established: 1864
Tier: 3
Public Records
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