More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #54 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
Most of Gretna was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1890.
The Gretna post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Forest City (1859), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 255 in 18902020 census: 5,083140 years
How historic is Gretna?
D
More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Gretna post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gretna’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gretna is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #54 of 57 in Nebraska. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gretna’s overall grade.
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 Gretna’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 D. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Gretna’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Gretna started shortly after the Burlington Railroad built a short line between Omaha and Ashland in the summer of 1886. Advent of the village of Gretna on this new laid rail line was the cue for the exit of the nearby trading post of Forest City, which had existed since 1856. In its day, Forest City, located 2.5 miles southwest of where Gretna now stands, was a flourishing and busy place, but it was doomed by the railroad which passed it by. The only markers that exist today to show the site of old Forest City is the cemetery (Holy Sepulchre) which is located a little to the east of what was the center of activity in the settlement and the 1886 homestead originally owned by the Schnack Family and located on Schnack Acres at 234th St. Names that were prominent in the beginnings of Forest City were the families of Adolph Schnack, William Langdon, John Thomas and John Conner.
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.
The Gretna post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Gretna rank for history?
Gretna is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #54 of 57 in Nebraska. 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 Gretna?
0.7% of Gretna’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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