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C+History
History · Bennet

Bennet dates to 1871, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1880.

1871founded
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bennet began

When was Bennet founded?

1871

Bennet dates its founding to 1871 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 214 in 18802020 census: 1,082155 years

How historic is Bennet?

C+

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bennet’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bennet is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bennet’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194023.1% of homes (±6.1) · typical NE town 17.8% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NE town 16.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder

Nebraska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Nebraska town has 16.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bennet’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (11% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 points). Two sources give 1871.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Bennet’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bennet are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bennet’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bennet’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Bennet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bennet.

Read it all →

Bennet was founded on July 29, 1871 when the railroad was extended to that point. The village was founded on land previously owned by William Roggenkamp as a station for a rail line being laid by the Midland Pacific Railway which ran from Lincoln to Nebraska City. It was originally named Bennett's Station for John Bennett, officer of the Midland Pacific Railway. The town was incorporated on October 1, 1881.

By the early 1900s, the village had become a prosperous commercial and social center for the area. At this time, the nearby town of Lincoln was still relatively small and remote. Beginning with the Great Depression, Bennet's population declined, local businesses closed, and many moved to cities for work.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bennet, 1871 to 1966

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871
    FoundingBennet is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Bennet Station post office opens
  4. 1880Post officeThe Bennet Station post office closes
  5. 1880Post officeThe Bennet post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bennet, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Bennet, Nebraska grain elevator2012Bennet, Nebraska grain elevatorBennet, Nebraska from S 12012Bennet, Nebraska from S 1Bennet, Nebraska Monroe Street 22012Bennet, Nebraska Monroe Street 2Bennet, Nebraska Monroe Street 12012Bennet, Nebraska Monroe Street 1NEMap-doton-Bennet2005NEMap-doton-Bennet
On the map

Bennet on the map, 1966 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bennet. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bennet on the 1966 USGS mapBennet on the 1972 USGS mapBennet on the 1986 USGS map1966Bennett sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bennet.

People over time

Bennet, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200188019001920194019601980200020201,082

Grew from 214 people in 1880 to 1,082 in 2020, 5 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bennet’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bennet’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Bennet Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bennet Station
1871–1880
Bennet
1880–today
18701950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Bennet’s history

What year was Bennet founded?

In 1871, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bennet’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 214 people here.

How does Bennet rank for history?

Bennet is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Bennet?

23% of Bennet’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1984.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.