Fullerton, NE

Fullerton is Nance County’s seat, set between the Loup and Cedar rivers in central Nebraska. Randall Fuller chose the area in 1876 after driving cattle west, bought land after the Pawnee reservation period ended, and donated 60 acres for a courthouse. The town was named the temporary county seat in 1879, and the county took its name from Gov. Albinus Nance. That courthouse role still gives the small city its clearest civic purpose.

Fullerton’s river corridor is unusually close to town. Broken Arrow Wilderness north of the city follows the Cedar River and includes oak timber, a tall cliff known as Lover’s Leap, trails, campsites, and river trips. The same area hosted a Chautauqua from 1898 to 1930, when special trains brought performers, speakers, and visitors to the grounds. Today the Cedar River connects those older gatherings with current recreation. Routes 14 and 22 bring through traffic past a county-seat grid shaped by courthouse offices, schools, and the river valley.