Niobrara County is named for the Niobrara River which flows through the county, and “niobrara” is the Omaha Indian word for “flat or broad”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Weston County
E – Custer County, South Dakota, Fall River County, South Dakota and Sioux County, Nebraska
S – Goshen County and Platte County
W – Converse County
Created: February 14, 1911 
County Seat:
Lusk 1911 – present
County Courthouse – Lusk
Location: 424 South Elm Street / East 5th Street
Built: 1919 – 1920
Style: Italianate
Architect: George E McDonald of Omaha, Nebraska
Contractor: D W Wood
Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Lusk. The building has a raised stone basement and building has porticos on the east and south entrances. The portico on the south side is supported by eight brick piers resting on stone bases and topped with Scamozzi Ionic capitals. White colored trim decorates the roof line. There is a small square white colored cupola on the center of the roof. The entry consists of double-leaf wood doors framed by leaded-glass sidelights and transom. In the interior, the first story has a central circular space, with hallways leading south, east, and west, and a stairway to the north. The hallways have segmental arches rising from attached columns with Ionic capitals. Dark-stained wood trim, plaster walls and ceiling, lighting fixtures, and the wood stair railing are all original. The courtroom is located on the second story. The building houses the District Court of the 8th Judicial District. On the north side is the one story concrete block County Justice Center which houses the Circuit Court of the 8th Judicial District.
See: The architect, George E McDonald of Omaha, Nebraska designed courthouses in Kansas in Elk County; in Missouri in Andrew County, Bates County, Johnson County and Lawrence County; in Nebraska in Fillmore County and Nuckolls County.
History: The county was created in 1911 and Lusk was selected as the county seat in 1913 when the county was organized. The county rented office space until the first and present courthouse was constructed in 1919 to 1920.
County Courthouse – Lusk
County Justice Center – Lusk
Photos taken 2007 and 2009