Thomas Cuming was Acting Governor of the Nebraska Territory from October 20th through December 23rd, 1854. During his short tenure he ordered that a territorial census be taken. Based on that census he defined eight counties and assigned councilmen and representatives to the counties.

The counties were named: Burt, Washington, Dodge, Douglas, Pierce, Forney, Cass, and Richardson Counties. This map shows the location of those counties, in what is present day Nebraska — only a small portion of the Nebraska Territory in 1854.

The land that would eventually become York County is highlighted in yellow. It was divided between Cass and Pierce Counties, with a small portion still in the unorganized territory.

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