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Alliance, Nebraska
Downtown Alliance: Box Butte Avenue
Downtown Alliance: Box Butte Avenue
Location of Alliance within Nebraska and Box Butte County
Location of Alliance within Nebraska and Box Butte County
Country United States
State Nebraska
County Box Butte
Area
 • Total 4.99 sq mi (12.94 km2)
 • Land 4.98 sq mi (12.91 km2)
 • Water 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)
Elevation
3,966 ft (1,209 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total 8,491
 • Estimate 
(2019)
8,092
 • Density 1,623.92/sq mi (626.95/km2)
Time zone UTC−7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−6 (MDT)
ZIP code
69301
Area code(s) 308
FIPS code 31-00905
GNIS feature ID 0834978
Website cityofalliance.net

Alliance is a city and the county seat of Box Butte County, in the western part of the state of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. Its population was 8,491 at the 2010 census.

Alliance is the home to Carhenge, a replica of Stonehenge constructed with automobiles, which is located north of the city. It is also the location of Alliance Municipal Airport, the least-used airport in the mainland United States.

History

The town was originally named Grand Lake. When the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad came to Grand Lake in 1888, the railroad superintendent, G.W. Holdrege, wanted to change it to a simple one-word name closer to the beginning of the alphabet, which he thought would be better for business. The U.S. Post Office gave Holdrege permission, and he picked "Alliance" for the new name of the town. Alliance was incorporated as a city in 1891.

The Alliance Army Airfield was established in 1942. Construction was completed in August 1943 and the Army Air Corps used the facility as a training base until the end of World War II. The facility was transferred from the federal government to the City of Alliance in 1953 and is currently in use as the Alliance Municipal Airport.

In the Lakota language, Alliance is known as čhasmú okáȟmi, meaning "Sand River Bend".

Geography

Alliance is located at the western edge of Nebraska's Sand Hills. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.73 square miles (12.25 km2), of which, 4.72 square miles (12.22 km2) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2) is water.

Climate

Located in the High Plains, Alliance's climate is rather typical of the surrounding region. Under the Köppen climate classification, the town features a BSk climate, commonly described as a "Cold Steppe", with winters just below the −3 °C (26.6 °F)* threshold needed to be classified as a Continental climate, if it had enough precipitation to not be arid or semi-arid.

The all-time record high for Alliance is 110 °F (43 °C), set in 1983, and the all-time record low is −42 °F (−41 °C), set in 1989. Precipitation is significantly higher in summer than in winter, with the wettest month being June, and the driest month being January.

Climate data for Alliance, Nebraska
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 70
(21)
77
(25)
84
(29)
91
(33)
101
(38)
105
(41)
110
(43)
105
(41)
102
(39)
91
(33)
80
(27)
72
(22)
110
(43)
Average high °F (°C) 40
(4)
42
(6)
51
(11)
60
(16)
70
(21)
80
(27)
89
(32)
87
(31)
77
(25)
63
(17)
49
(9)
40
(4)
62
(17)
Average low °F (°C) 12
(−11)
15
(−9)
22
(−6)
31
(−1)
42
(6)
52
(11)
58
(14)
56
(13)
45
(7)
32
(0)
21
(−6)
12
(−11)
33
(1)
Record low °F (°C) −31
(−35)
−40
(−40)
−25
(−32)
−12
(−24)
7
(−14)
27
(−3)
33
(1)
30
(−1)
15
(−9)
−8
(−22)
−25
(−32)
−42
(−41)
−42
(−41)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.30
(7.6)
0.38
(9.7)
0.61
(15)
1.69
(43)
2.85
(72)
2.98
(76)
1.86
(47)
1.54
(39)
1.59
(40)
0.90
(23)
0.48
(12)
0.32
(8.1)
15.5
(392.4)
Average precipitation days 5 6 8 9 11 10 9 9 8 6 6 5 92
Mean monthly sunshine hours 179 190 230 246 277 308 340 306 266 237 179 163 2,921

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1890 829
1900 2,535 205.8%
1910 3,105 22.5%
1920 4,591 47.9%
1930 6,669 45.3%
1940 6,253 −6.2%
1950 7,891 26.2%
1960 7,845 −0.6%
1970 6,862 −12.5%
1980 9,920 44.6%
1990 9,765 −1.6%
2000 8,959 −8.3%
2010 8,491 −5.2%
2019 (est.) 8,092 −4.7%
U.S. Decennial Census
2012 Estimate

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 8,491 people, 3,559 households, and 2,276 families living in the city. The population density was 1,798.9 inhabitants per square mile (694.6/km2). There were 4,075 housing units at an average density of 863.3 per square mile (333.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.5% White, 0.5% African American, 4.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 4.2% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.3% of the population.

There were 3,559 households, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.0% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.96.

The median age in the city was 39.8 years. 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 29.2% were from 45 to 64; and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

Transportation

Airport

Alliance is served by the Alliance Municipal Airport, three miles southeast of the city of Alliance, which owns it. In the 12 months ending in January 2021, the airport received 2,882 passengers, or an average of just 8 per day, making it the least-used airport in the mainland United States.

Railway

The BNSF railway line from the northern exit of the Powder River Basin, one of the largest coal-mining areas of the world, to Alliance and the eastern United States, sees a rather large number of coal trains every day, to power plants in the Midwest and South. In the southern areas of Alliance there is a large train yard which hosts many of these coal trains.

Carhenge

Among the city's attractions is Carhenge, an assemblage of thirty-eight vehicles built in the model of Stonehenge by Jim Reinders and thirty-five family members in the summer of 1987. The sculpture was constructed on the farm of Reinders's late father just north of Alliance. Other works have been built in the surrounding area of the sculpture.

In fiction

The second half of Ann Patchett's 1997 novel The Magician's Assistant is set entirely in Alliance.

  • 42°06′05″N 102°52′13″W / 42.101382°N 102.870272°W / 42.101382; -102.870272

Education

Alliance Public Schools operates five schools: Early Childhood Center (birth to age 5), Emerson Elementary (kindergarten through grade 2), Grandview Elementary (grades 3–5), Alliance Middle School (grades 6–8), and Alliance High School (grades 9–12).

St. Agnes Academy is the local parochial school, in association with Holy Rosary and St. Bridget Catholic Churches. St. Agnes is located within a historic building designed by noted architect William L. Steele.

Notable people

  • Jimmy Abegg, visual artist, member of Rich Mullins' A Ragamuffin Band and Vector
  • Moon Bloodgood, actress/model, born in Alliance
  • David Bunnell, publisher, writer
  • Helen Duhamel, businesswoman and broadcaster, attended St. Agnes Academy in Alliance
  • James Emanuel, poet and critic
  • Jordan Hooper, basketball player for WNBA's Chicago Sky; born in Alliance
  • LeRoy J. Louden, Nebraska legislator
  • Luke Redfield, singer/songwriter, spent a portion of his youth in Alliance
  • Peary Rader, American bodybuilder and magazine publisher from Nebraska. He was the founding publisher of Iron Man from 1936 to 1986. Died in Alliance.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Alliance (Nebraska) para niños

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