Can you believe it!?!
We have 30 days until our first game of the 2026-2027 football season against the Ohio Bobcats on 9/5/2026.
Yesterday we looked at Nance County, Nebraska.
https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/31-days-until-gameday-–-day-63-nance-county-nebraska.8918598/
Nemaha County, Nebraska
Former Huskers and Spotlights (years are letterman years)
According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln records, there have been 9 letterman football players from Nemaha County, NE.
Charles Beck – E 1913, Peru, NE.
Ty Hahn – WR 2022-2023, Johnson, NE.
John Clarke – T 1990, Brock, NE.
Quint Hogrefe – LB 1995-1998, Auburn, NE.
Richard Hutton – HB 1946-1948, Auburn, NE.
We have 30 days until our first game of the 2026-2027 football season against the Ohio Bobcats on 9/5/2026.
Yesterday we looked at Nance County, Nebraska.
https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/31-days-until-gameday-–-day-63-nance-county-nebraska.8918598/
Nemaha County, Nebraska
- Established in 1855 and named after the Nemaha River, which in Oteo it translates to ‘miry water’.
- License plate prefix #44.
- The population is ~7,125 (2026) but has been consistently decreasing since its peak of almost 15,000 in 1900.
- The county is approximately 410 square miles.
- The Missouri River flows along the eastern border of the county.
- The Little Nemaha River flows through the county and dumps into the Missouri River.
- The ghost town of Saint Deroin was the first community of the county and founded as a trading post along the Missouri River. It became abandoned in 1920 when flooding destroyed most of the townsite.
- Indian Cave State Park is a public park that preserves a cave with prehistoric petroglyps. Some of the carvings in the cave are estimated to be several thousand years old. There is 22 miles of hiking and biking trails within the park, as well as equestrian trails, camping, fishing and boating along the Missouri River.
- Brownville was the original county seat from 1855-1883.
- In 1857, Brownville was the biggest city in Nebraska.
- In 1861, Nemaha County had Nebraska’s first normal school (teacher’s college) in what later became Peru State College.
- On January 1, 1863, the first claim to land in Nebraska under the Homestead Act of 1862 was filed by Daniel Freeman at the Brownville land office.
- The Nebraska State Fair was held in Brownville in 1870 and 1871.
- In 1883, the county seat moved from Brownville to Auburn.
- In 1974, the Cooper Nuclear Station was commissioned south of Brownville.
- In 1992, the Governor Furnas Arboretum was planted in Brownville. It was named for the 2nd Governor of Nebraska who was the signer for the first declaration of Arbor Day.
- Nemaha was home to the Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation, established in 1830 for the children of the Native Americans and French-Canadian fur traders. The Underground Railroad ran through the reservation and was the last stop before reaching Nebraska City.
- Auburn was formed in 1882 as the incorporation of two towns (Calvert and Sheridan) that combined to have the voting power to take the county seat away from Brownville.
- From 1910-1913, Auburn was home to a minor league baseball team, the Auburn Athletics. It had no MLB affiliation, but they played in the Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas League. The league disbanded after 1913. The Athletics played their games at the Legion Memorial Park in Auburn. The park is still in use today and is listed as a National Historic Park site.
- The first settlement attempt in Peru came in 1853, but soldiers from Fort Kearny forced the settlers to leave because the Nebraska Territory belonged to the Otoe Tribe. The settlers made a settlement across the Missouri River and named it Mount Vernon. 4 years later, they would cross the river and found Peru.
- Brock was established in 1854. However, between 1854-1882, the town was changed names from Dayton to Howard to Clinton to Podunk before being named Brock in 1882.
Former Huskers and Spotlights (years are letterman years)
According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln records, there have been 9 letterman football players from Nemaha County, NE.
Charles Beck – E 1913, Peru, NE.
- 160lb end from Peru.
- Played at Peru State from 1908-1909.
- Coached football and basketball at Wahoo High School from 1910-1911.
- Played at Nebraska in 1912-1913, lettering in 1913.
- 1913 All-Missouri Valley
- The 1913 team went 8-0 and Missouri Valley Conference champions.
Ty Hahn – WR 2022-2023, Johnson, NE.
- 6’2” 200lb wide receiver wearing #17.
- 3x All-State receiver out of Johnson-Brock HS.
- Played in 27 games in his career on offense and special teams.
- Finished his career with 4 catches for 36 yards, and 6 tackles.
John Clarke – T 1990, Brock, NE.
- 6’2” 250lb offensive tackle wearing #72.
- All-Area football player and state champion wrestler and power lifter out of Auburn HS.
- Walked on at Nebraska.
- Played at Nebraska from 1987-1990, lettering in 1990.
- Played left tackle for the Huskers that led the Big Eight in rushing (340 ypg), total offense (444 ypg), and scoring (37.5 ppg).
- John passed away in 2013 and was a K9 handler with the Lincoln Police Department.
Quint Hogrefe – LB 1995-1998, Auburn, NE.
- 5’11” 210lb linebacker wearing #49.
- 2x All-State player out of Auburn HS.
- Played at Nebraska from 1994-1998, lettering from 1995-1998.
- 3x NCAA National Champion
- 2x Academic All-Big 12.
- Played in 15 games throughout his career and finished with 4 tackles.
Richard Hutton – HB 1946-1948, Auburn, NE.
- 5’9” 165lb halfback wearing #63 and #66.
- Played for Peru State College and then joined the Air Force for WWII and served in a B-25 bomber crew in the China-Burma theater.
- After WWII, he played 3 years of football and ran track for Nebraska.
- 1946 All-Big Six
- Passed away in 1950 at 26 years old due to stomach cancer.
- Nebraska Football Hall of Fame member.
