34 Days Until Gameday – Day #60 McPherson County, Nebraska

Happy Sunday, friends!

We have 34 days until our first game of the 2026-2027 football season against the Ohio Bobcats on 9/5/2026.
Yesterday we looked at Madison County, Nebraska.

https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/35-days-until-gameday-–-day-59-madison-county-nebraska.8914311/

McPherson County, Nebraska

• Established in 1887 and named after US Civil War General James McPherson.
• McPherson County was formed with lands from Logan County.
• Later in 1913, part of McPherson County was portioned off to form Arthur County.
• License plate prefix #90.
• Tryon is the county seat and one of two unincorporated communities to serve as county seat in the state.
• The population is ~360 (2026).
• The county experienced significant growth after the passage of the Kinkaid Act in 1904, which encouraged settlement. However, the lack of resources and a railroad led to a decline in population after reaching its peak in 1910.
• McPherson county is the least populous county in Nebraska and the 2nd least populous county in the continental United States.
• The county is approximately 859 square miles, which gives you about 0.42 people per square mile.
• Tryon was originally named McPherson in 1890, but in 1892, it was renamed to Tryon.
• McPherson County is one of the westernmost counties to observe central time.
• The county is an agricultural focused county, with 99% of its land being used for agricultural purposes.
• The original courthouse of McPherson County was a sod house built in 1890 and remained until a brick courthouse was built in the 1920’s. A newer courthouse was built in 2005.

Former Huskers and Spotlights (years are letterman years)
According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln records, there have been 0 letterman football players from McPherson County, NE.




Other Notable or Prominent People from/born in McPherson County:

Simon Warren – Early homesteader in McPherson County. Helped establish Tryon State Bank.


Glenn Miller – Born in Iowa, lived in Tryon, attended grade school in North Platte. Miller was a musician and band conductor. His band, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, was one of the most popular and successful bands of the 20th century and of the big-band era. In 1942, he joined the US Army Air Force and was the conductor for the Army Air Forces Orchestra. He is considered the father of the modern US military bands. The plane he was on went down in the English Channel in 1944 during WWII.

https://www.immf-midway.com/glennmiller.html


GO BIG RED



Resources:
https://storage.googleapis.com/husk.../ZD6pyAK8hFocPYXCFPaVccH8170tcm1uOYyc7u0R.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McPherson_County,_Nebraska
https://mcphersoncounty.ne.gov/
http://mcphersoncounty.ne.gov/about-our-county/
https://nebraskacounties.org/nebraska-counties/county/mcpherson.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_statistics_of_the_United_States