Richardson County, Nebraska: History
The Nebraska Territory, including this county, was opened for settlement through the Kansas–Nebraska Act on May 30, 1854. Richardson County was created that same year and reorganized in 1855 by the first territorial legislature. It was named after William A. Richardson, a US Representative from the state of Illinois who had sponsored the Kansas-Nebraska Act; subsequently, in 1858, Richardson was appointed governor of the Nebraska Territory.
The first courthouse was built in 1863. The second courthouse was built in 1873 and burned on May 7, 1919.
On May 30, 1879, the "Irving, Kansas Tornado" passed through Richardson County. This tornado measured F4 on the Fujita scale, and had a damage path 800 yards (730 m) wide and 100 miles (160 km) long. Eighteen people were killed and sixty were injured in this tornado.
In the summer of 1966, Braniff Airlines Flight 250 crashed near Falls City due to bad weather, killing all 42 on board. The BAC One-Eleven aircraft was on the Kansas City to Omaha leg of a multi-stop flight from New Orleans to Minneapolis on Saturday night, August 6, 1966.