Red Willow County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 10,702. Its county seat is McCook. In the Nebraska license plate system, Red Willow County is represented by the prefix 48 (it had the forty-eighth-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).
History
Red Willow County was formed in 1873. It was named for the Red Willow Creek. The name is reported to be a mistranslation of the Dakota Indian name Chanshasha Wakpala, which literally means Red Dogwood Creek. The Dakota referred to the creek thus due to red dogwood shrubs that grew along the creek banks. Its stem and branches are deep red in color, and it is favored in basket making.
Geography
Red Willow County lies on the south line of Nebraska. The south boundary line of Red Willow County abuts the north boundary line of the state of Kansas. The Republican River runs easterly through the north-central part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, sloping to the east. The portions of the terrain in the drainage basins are used for agriculture. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water.
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 6
- 20px U.S. Highway 34
- 20px U.S. Highway 83
- 20px Nebraska Highway 89
Transit
- Amtrak California Zephyr (McCook station)
Adjacent counties
- Furnas County – east
- Decatur County, Kansas – south
- Rawlins County, Kansas – southwest
- Hitchcock County – west
- Frontier County – north
Protected areas
- Red Willow Reservoir State Wildlife Management Area (part)