The site of Falls City is located on the north side of the Big Nemaha River, in the southeast corner of the state.

The men were all Abolitionists and the city was established as a station on the Underground Railroad for escaping slaves on a section referred to as the Lane Trail.

[4][5] The city was established during the struggles resulting from the Kansas–Nebraska Act (passed in 1854) and continuing through the American Civil War.

Finally in a third election in 1860, Falls City was declared the permanent site of the county seat.

In the summer of 1966, Braniff Airlines Flight 250 crashed near Falls City due to bad weather, killing all 42 on board.

[6] 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.

[7][8] In 1993, Brandon Teena, a trans man who had recently arrived in Falls City, was murdered by two acquaintances who, upon discovering that he had been born female, had beaten and raped him about a week previously.

Brandon had reported the rape to the police, but the Richardson County sheriff had failed to take steps to protect him; in particular, he had not arrested the two alleged rapists.

Brandon's mother subsequently sued the sheriff and the county for negligence, wrongful death, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Briefs were filed in the case by thirty-four civil-rights groups, including the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund; the matter eventually came before the Nebraska Supreme Court, which found the county negligent in failing to protect Brandon.

[9][10] The episode was dramatized in a 1999 film titled Boys Don't Cry; actor Hilary Swank received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Brandon.

In 2013, Randy Houser, the sheriff, argued that the area form of conservatism is "mind your own business, live your own life".