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B−History
History · Bennington

Bennington’s post office opened in 1888, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Bennington was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Its Register listings are the Bennington State Bank, the Carl Penke Farm and the Oft-Gordon House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1900.

1888first post office
3on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bennington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bennington began

When was Bennington founded?

1888

The Bennington post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 229 in 19002020 census: 2,026138 years

How historic is Bennington?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Bennington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bennington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bennington is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bennington’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.8% of homes (±4.1) · typical NE town 17.8% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register3 listings, 7 historic buildings, 29.6 per 10,000 residents · typical NE town 16.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
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 Bennington’s 29.6 sits above most of its state (73% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Bennington’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bennington’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPratt farmhouse (cropped): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bennington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bennington.

Read it all →

Bennington was originally called Bunz Town, and under the latter name was founded in the 1880s when the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad was extended to that point. The present name is after the town of Bennington, Vermont.

Bennington was struck by an EF4 tornado on April 26, 2024, severely damaging 60 to 65 homes. Another significant tornado nearly a year later on April 17, 2025 occurred nearby as it struck Nashville, Nebraska and cause EF3 damage to homes and businesses.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bennington, 1888 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Bennington post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900In the archivePratt farmhouse (cropped)
  5. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bennington, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s2 items
Pratt farmhouse (cropped)1900–1910Pratt farmhouse (cropped)Pratt farmhouse1900–1910Pratt farmhouse
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Debris in trees in the community of Bennington, NE following the April 26 tornadoes2024Debris in trees in the community of Bennington, NE fo…Bennington, Nebraska downtown 22012Bennington, Nebraska downtown 2Bennington, Nebraska downtown 12012Bennington, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Bennington2005NEMap-doton-Bennington
On the map

Bennington on the map, 1968 to 1983

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

Bennington on the 1968 USGS mapBennington on the 1975 USGS mapBennington on the 1983 USGS map1968Elkhorn 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 Bennington.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Pratt farmhouse (cropped)
Retake this viewPratt farmhouse (cropped), 1900–1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bennington’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Bennington

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
2006
Bennington State Bank
Bennington State BankOft-Gordon House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Bennington State BankBuilding
Carl Penke FarmBuilding
Oft-Gordon HouseQueen Anne

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Bennington, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00019001920194019601980200020202,026

Grew from 229 people in 1900 to 2,026 in 2020, 8 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bennington

Nobody well known was born in Bennington itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Marlon BrandoAmerican actor · b. 1924
Warren BuffettAmerican investor, entrepreneur and businessman · b. 1930
Malcolm XAmerican Black rights activist · b. 1925
Fred AstaireAmerican dancer, choreographer, actor, and sing… · b. 1899
Nick NolteAmerican actor · b. 1941
A
Andy RoddickAmerican tennis player · b. 1982
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Bennington’s post office has been open since 1888.

Gone or out of use
Benningtonlocale

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

Questions about Bennington’s history

What year was Bennington founded?

The Bennington post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Bennington rank for history?

Bennington is more historic than 50% 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.

What is on the National Register in Bennington?

Three places: the Bennington State Bank (listed 2006), the Carl Penke Farm (2007) and the Oft-Gordon House (2010).

How old are the homes in Bennington?

8% of Bennington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 2002.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.