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Boomtown Survives After 97 Years
McPherson County, Nebraska
Population:
497
Seat: Tryon
(Pop 90)
With a population
that is a fifth what it was in 1910 when the county seat was a
bustling frontier city, McPherson County is the 8th least
populated county in America.
The population of the county jumped from 517 in 1900 to 2,470
in 1910. The rapid settlement was driven by the Kincaid act of
1904.
 The act made it possible for
every settler to file on a full section of land (one square
mile) and obtain title after homesteading the property for
five years. The promise of a full section of land brought a
wave of land seekers into the sandhill areas of the state.
Today, there are several businesses
located in Tryon including a feed store, two restaurants, two
hair salons, an automotive service station, and a five unit
motel boasting cable TV. |
