Since 1868, Seward has sponsored an annual Fourth of July celebration, with only a few interruptions, that gained national attention. This square was the festival’s original site and remains its focal point. Special trains once brought revelers for the holiday, and today tens of thousands arrive by automobile. Community young people helped drive the celebration, and in 1973 Governor Exon designated Seward “Nebraska’s Official 4th of July City.” In 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial officials cited Seward for its patriotic observances. The county, first named Greene in 1858, was renamed in 1862 for Civil War Secretary of State William H. Seward. The city of Seward was platted in 1868 and became the county seat in 1871. It stands at the confluence of the Big Blue River, Plum Creek, and Lincoln Creek. Its Neo-classical Revival Courthouse was built in 1905 under the supervision of architect George Berlinghof. Eastern farmers first settled the area, but beginning in the 1870’s the population was increasingly shaped by German and Czech elements. The fertile surrounding countryside became a diversified farming and livestock-feeding area, and Concordia Teachers College was established in Seward in 1894.