Greeley County is named for Horace Greeley ( 1811-1872 ), the famed founder and editor of the New York Tribune, who advocated support and land grants for farmers and a government financed railroad to the Pacific.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Wheeler County
E – Boone County and Nance County
S – Howard County
W – Valley County
Created: March 1, 1871 
County Seat:
Lamartine 1873 – 1874
Scotia 1874 – 1890
Greeley 1890 – present
County Courthouse – Greeley
Location: 301 East O’Conner Avenue / Kildare Street
Built: 1913 – 1914
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Berlinghof and Davis of Lincoln ( George A Berlinghof )
Contractor: H Ohlson & Son of Loup City
Description: The building faces west and is a two story buff-brown colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Greeley. Limestone of a golden hue is used effectively for the foundation and also trim, especially at the west entrance and along the parapet. The stonework contrasts effectively with greyish tan face brick. The central entrance on the first story is recessed and framed with stone. Since the west facade is the primary entrance, it has somewhat more elaborate detail: an outsized stone shield with large swags, papyrus bundles, and scrolls centered on the stepped parapet. A horizontal band runs between the first and second stories. Vertical pillars divide the windows on the second and third stories. A wide cornice runs below the room line. On the west side there is a large crest at the roof line. Both the east and west facades have simple paired brick pilasters while four pilasters are arranged singly on the north and south. The roof line is flat. The interior, which is of rather simple but largely unaltered design, retains original features, such as terrazzo flooring in hallways and marble counters. Perhaps the most prominent feature is the white colored marble that is used for wainscoting, stairs, and finely curving banisters. The largely unaltered district courtroom on the second story extends into third floor space and is also simply decorated and features original high ceilings, broad plaster beams, pairs of unadorned pilasters between long narrow windows, white colored marble mopboard, grey painted concrete floor, and simple wood furnishings. The original light fixtures consist of three long globes with three shorter ones around them and all are suspended by a long metal chain. The building houses the District Court and County Court of the 8th Judicial District.
See: The architect, George A Berlinghof of Beatrice, designed courthouses in Colfax County, Franklin County, Howard County, Kearney County, Lincoln County, Nemaha County, Seward County and Thayer County; and in Iowa in Crawford County.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Greeley County Courthouse
See: The 8th Judicial District includes Blaine County, Boyd County, Brown County, Cherry County, Custer County, Garfield County, Holt County, Howard County, Keya Paha County, Loup County, Rock County, Sherman County, Valley County and Wheeler County.
History: The county was created in 1871 and Lamartine was designated as the county seat in 1873. In 1874, the county seat was moved to Scotia and the first courthouse was built at a cost of $4,000. In 1890, the county seat was moved to Greeley and the second courthouse, a two story brick structure was built in 1890 to 1891 at a cost of $5,000. The courthouse was torn down when the third and present courthouse was constructed in 1913 to 1914 at a cost of $65,000.
County Courthouse - Greeley
Photos taken 2010