The Bradshaw post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lenox (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 273146 years
Founding year: the first Bradshaw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Bradshaw’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Bradshaw was platted in 1879 when the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad was extended to that point. Bradshaw was the maiden name of the wife of the original owner of the town site.
In 1890, a tornado struck Bradshaw, killing twelve people and doing great damage.
On May 5, 1964, an F5 tornado hit Bradshaw, killing 4 people and injuring 50. It was the only official F5 tornado in Nebraska history.
Passages that mention Bradshaw, cut from the printed page as they were published.
York County, Nebraska and its people1921 · page 655Read the page →
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Residents in the boundaries of a proposed new school district Xo. 6 voted on the con.solidation of the districts now in the territory on Wednesday, January 5th. The election was held in the Bradshaw Town Hall. If District No. 6 had been established the Town of Bradshaw would have been the center of the territory and adequate buildings to accommodate the larger schools would have been called for-, but it was voted down, 148 for to 186 against consolidation. District No. 3, which was established at Benedict recently, will probably arrange to begin school work under the new plan in the fall of 1921, and the facilities afforded by the
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Old settlers' history of York County and individual biographies1913 · page 83Read the page →
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The village of Bradshaw has had a sad as well as eventful history, which placed her for a time in the long list of the ruined cities of the world. In the evening of the third day of June 1890, the residents of this little village and the surrounding country stood in helpless suspense and watched two peculiar storm clouds approaching, one moving from the northwest to the southeast, and one moving from the southwest to the northeast. The clouds met near the edge
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Old settlers' history of York County and individual biographies1913Read the page →
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converted into the First National Bank of Benedict. He served as President of this bank until August 1912. On May 14, 1897 he and his business associates organized the State Bank of Bradshaw. He served as President of this bank until March 1906, at which time this bank was converted into the First National Bank of Bradshaw. He was elected President and served until August 1912. In June 1889 he became President of the Blue River Bank of McCool
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York County, Nebraska and its people1921 · page 791Read the page →
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tinued as president until February 8, 1906, at which time the bank of Benedict was converted into the First National Bank of Benedict. He served as president of this bank until Augu.st, 1913. On May 14, 1879, he and his business associates organized the State Bank of Bradshaw. He served as president of this bank until March, 1906, at which time this bank was converted into the First National Bank of Bradshaw-. He was elected president and served until August, 1912. In June, 1889, he became president of the Blue River Bank of McCool Junction and served as such until August, 1912. In April, 1902, he bought the controlling interest in the Bank
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Bradshaw, 1879 to 1921
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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