Sarpy County, location in Nebraska


WELCOME TO SARPY COUNTY!

Click for Papillion, Nebraska Forecast

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Hi and welcome to Sarpy County, the home of Bellevue, (the first and oldest city in Nebraska),Gretna Offutt Air Force Base, Papillion, (the county seat), Richfield, Springfield, (host of the Sarpy County fair), La Platte, and La Vista.

Sarpy County, where the "cities meet the country", is located in the eastern part of the state, just south of Omaha. If you are ever physically out this way, come visit the Old Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, or tour the old log cabin, the Fontenelle Bank or the Sarpy County Museum. Stop at the Bellevue Cemetery and visit the final resting place of one of the last Omaha Indian chiefs, Big Elk, or meander through the forest at the Fontenelle Nature Center. Visit Papillion and see the old school and the Jacob Sautter farm house, or go shopping at the outlet stores in Gretna. While in Gretna, don't forget to go to the Old Gretna fish hatchery at Schramm Park, also home to the Aksarben Aquarium.
Stop into the SAC Museum and walk through historic airplanes and much more!

Sarpy County truly has something for everybody, and we hope you will come visit!

"Sarpy County was named in honor of one who, in the early days of Nebraska’s history, was a central figure- - Col. Peter A. Sarpy. Although containing the oldest settlement in the State, Sarpy County was among the last of the river tier to be organized, having up to February 1, 1857, been a part of Douglas County. It is surrounded on three sides by water; on the east by the Missouri, and on the south and west by the Platte. The principal river is the Papillion, originally known as the Papio, which has two well-known branches, the Little Papillion and South Creek, the South Fork of the Big Papillion. The Big Papillion flows in an easterly direction and empties into the Missouri. All other streams in the county tend to the south, and swell the waters of the Platte. Louis and Clark, in their famous expedition in search of the head-waters of the Missouri, reached the mouth of the Platte River on July 21, 1804, and the next day explored the country to the north and west, and camped on the level beach on which Bellevue was half a century later located. The following year, Manuel Lesa, a Spanish adventurer, came to Bellevue, and on climbing the bluff to the plateau, was, as the story runs, so struck with the natural beauty of the spot, that he exclaimed “Bellevue,” and unwittingly christened the town. It is probable that other parties visited the junction of the two great rivers between the date just given and 1810, but if such was the case, they have left no record. In 1810, the American Fur Company, which was always in the van of civilization, established a trading-post at this point, and placed Francis Deroin in charge as Indian trader. Deroin was succeeded by Joseph Roubideaux, familiarly know as “Old Joe” to all the early settlers, and later the father of St. Joseph, Mo. In 1816, John Carbanne succeeded Roubideaux, and held the position until superseded in 1824 by Col. Peter A. Sarpy." A.T. Andreas, 1882


Early towns no longer in existence...
Bridgeport, Brooklyn, Cedar Island, Chalco, Fairview, Forest City,Fort Crook, Hazelton, Larimer City, Larimer Mills, Meadow, Melia, Owenton, Papillion City (once located at 60th and Cornhusker), Platona, Platteford, Portal, Redville, Sarpy Center, Sauntee, Triaqua and Xenia.

See Gary Speck's Ghost Towns of Sarpy County, Nebraska.

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