The story
Read it all →How Pleasant Dale came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Pleasant Dale.
Pleasant Dale was laid out in 1883. It was named from its scenic setting in the Middle Creek valley.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Pleasant Dale
Pleasant Dale’s post office opened in 1871, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1910.
1871first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Pleasant Dale began, and where its name came from
When was Pleasant Dale founded?
1871
The Pleasant Dale post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 257 in 19102020 census: 218155 years
How did Pleasant Dale get its name?
Pleasant Dale was named from its scenic setting in the Middle Creek valley.
Founding year: the first Pleasant Dale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Pleasant Dale’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Pleasant Dale’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pleasant Dale’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Pleasant Dale on the map, 1897 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pleasant Dale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Lincoln sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pleasant Dale.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Pleasant Dale, 1888–1916
Passages that mention Pleasant Dale, cut from the printed page as they were published.
General history of Seward county, Nebraska1916 · page 241Read the page →
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the dale in 1879 and the townsite was laid out in 1883, the post office was moved to town and a store opened. The school was later moved to town also, and a market for grain opened up and the town of Pleasant Dale was on the map.
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History of Seward County, Nebraska, and reminiscenses of territorial history1905 · page 410Read the page →
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In 1890 the present two story frame building was erected in the village of Pleasant Dale, the district having been divided and W. C. Dunten was elected director. The first eighth grade class to graduate took their degree in 1899. It took its place in the ranks of the high schools in 1901 and 1902, through the generous help of citizens who raised by subscription $250, as the 25 mill limit of tax was insufficient to carry on the school. F. H. Blacker was elected principal
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General history of Seward county, Nebraska1916 · page 242Read the page →
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Pleasant Dale at the present time is a busy little village of about two hundred inhabitants. Its post office has one hundred and fifty private mail boxes, and two rural free delivery mail routes are in operation from it. W. L. Wallace is the carrier on route number one and Percy peterson on route two.
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History of Seward county, Nebraska, together with a chapter of reminiscenses of the early settlement of Lancaster county1888 · page 122Read the page →
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This precinct has but two and one-half miles of railroad, but has a station at Pleasant Dale. The eastern part is only twelve miles distant from the capital, and the western part is in close proximity to Seward and Milford. They have four schools, with good frame buildings. The population is 690, with 131 farms.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Pleasant Dale, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2017
2005People over time
Pleasant Dale, census by census
Between 138 and 259 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pleasant Dale’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Pleasant Dale
Nobody well known was born in Pleasant Dale itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Pleasant Dale’s history
What year was Pleasant Dale founded?
The Pleasant Dale post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.