SOIL SURVEY OF KIMBALL COUNTY, NEBRASKA. 7 



Kimball County was organized in 1888, being formerly a part of 

 Cheyenne County. The population consists mainly of native-born 

 Americans who have immigrated from the eastern part of Nebraska 

 and from Iowa and Illinois. There is a small percentage of Swedes 

 and Danes and a small number of Russians, the latter being em- 

 ploj^ed in the cultivation of sugar beets and other special crops. The 

 total population is reported in the census of 1910 as 1,942, all of 

 which is classed as rural. There has been a considerable increase in 

 population, however, since the last census. 



The greater part of the population is in the towns and in the 

 Lodgepole Creek valley, the density of the population on the upland 

 plains being less than two persons per square mile. 



Kimball, located in the central part of the county and having a 

 population of about 800, is the principal town and the county seat. 



The main line of the Union Pacific Eailroad west of Omaha 

 passes through the central part of the county and affords good trans- 

 portation facilities. Some sections along the northern and southern 

 boundaries of the county are remote from the railroad, and the mar- 

 keting of farm products involves hauls of 15 to 20 miles. 



The wagon roads are for the most part ordinary dirt roads, which 

 are not graded or permanently located. HoAvever, since there is but 

 little rainfall, they are generally in fair condition throughout the 

 year. The Lincoln Highway passes east and west through the Lodge- 

 pole Creek valley and is in good condition for both wagon and auto- 

 mobile traffic. The greater part of the county is supplied with tele- 

 phone service. 



Omaha is the principal outside market for most of the farm prod- 

 ucts. Wheat is sold at local elevators at Kimball, Bushnell, and Dix. 

 Sugar beets are shipped principally to refineries in Colorado. 



CLIMATE. 



Kimball County is characterized by cold winters and short sum- 

 mers, with a wide range between the highest and lowest recorded 

 temperatures. The mean annual temperature is reported by the 

 Weather Bureau station at Kimball as 47.5° F. 



The mean annual rainfall is about 16 inches, but the precipitation 

 varies widely from year to year. The driest year recorded by the 

 Weather Bureau was 1911, with 9.46 inches of precipitation, and the 

 wettest year 1905, with 25.59 inches. The greater part of the rain falls 

 in the months from April to July, inclusive, wiiile for each of the other 

 months the precipitation commonly averages less than 1 inch. The 

 rain generally occurs in the form of local showers, but occasionally 

 it is torrential in character. The snowfall is light. There is con- 

 siderably less snowfall than in the eastern part of the State. Local 

 hailstorms are of common occurrence in the summer months. 

 103823°— 17 2 



