Alma was launched in the spring of 1871 by a group of Union Pacific railroad laborers at first from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Harlan County was designed by the Nebraska Legislature on June three, 1871, and Alma was manufactured the county seat on July three, 1871. A dispute between the authentic settlers led to a dissolution of the town, but it was re-organized in 1874. Alma's standing as county seat was challenged by residents of Orleans, but an 1884 Nebraska Supreme Court determination affirmed Alma's standing as seat of Harlan County. Alma formally incorporated in July 1881. On January thirteen, 1880 the Burlington Railroad attained Alma, offering a sizeable improve for local commerce and sector. In 1887, the Kansas Town and Omaha Railroad also arrived at Alma. Telephone support reached Alma in June 1899. Electrical energy arrived with a steam electricity plant in 1906 and water provider adopted in 1907. In 1935, big flooding of the nearby Republican River presented an impetus to develop a dam on the river. The Army Corps of Engineers begun construction of the Harlan County Dam on August 1, 1946, and accomplished do the job in November 1952. The new artificial lake, Harlan County Lake, became one of Alma's best recreation destinations. During Globe War II, Alma hosted a modest number of captured German troopers..