Hitchcock County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 2,616. Its county seat is Trenton.
In the Nebraska license plate system, Hitchcock County is represented by the prefix 67 (it had the sixty-seventh-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).
History
Hitchcock County was formed in 1873. It was named for US Senator Phineas Warren Hitchcock.
The Massacre Canyon battle between Sioux and Pawnee took place on August 5, 1873, at a spot three miles east of Trenton.
Geography
The terrain of Hitchcock County consists of rolling low hills. The flattened hilltops are used for agriculture; mostly dry farming with some center pivot irrigation. The Republican River flows eastward through the central part of the county. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water.
The eastern two-thirds of the state of Nebraska observes Central Time; the western portion of the state observes Mountain Time. Hitchcock County is the westernmost county to observe Central Time.
Lakes
- Swanson Lake: formed by a dam on the Republican River, between Stratton and Trenton.
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 6
- 20px U.S. Highway 34
- 20px Nebraska Highway 17
- 20px Nebraska Highway 25
- 20px Nebraska Highway 25A
Adjacent counties
- Red Willow County – east
- Rawlins County, Kansas – south
- Dundy County – west (Mountain Time border)
- Hayes County – north
- Frontier County –northeast