Beatrice is a city in Gage County, Nebraska, 40 miles (64 km) south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River. The surrounding region is rich agricultural country. Settled in 1859, Beatrice was incorporated as a town in 1871 and became a city two years later. In 1900, 7,875 people lived in Beatrice and 10,883 populated Beatrice in 1940. The population was 12,496 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gage County^GR6. Among Nebraskans, the widely accepted pronunciation for Beatrice is "Bee-AH-tris", not "BEA-tris" (as it would be pronounced elsewhere).