Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Stanton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
BHistory
History · Stanton

Stanton dates to 1870, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Stanton Carnegie Library. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1880.

1870founded
1on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Stanton began

When was Stanton founded?

1870

Stanton dates its founding to 1870 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 248 in 18802020 census: 1,520156 years

How historic is Stanton?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1868.
History grade

What drives Stanton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stanton is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stanton’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194039.6% of homes (±6.2) · typical NE town 17.8% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 5.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NE town 16.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
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 Stanton’s 5.9 sits below most of its state (34% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). Two sources give 1870.

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 Stanton’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 Stanton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1900 to 1920, drew every building in Stanton.Old housesHalf of Stanton’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stanton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Stanton, building by building, 1900–1920

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Stanton fire insurance map, 1900, sheet 11900Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Stanton, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Stanton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Stanton is a city in Stanton County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2020 census, Stanton had a population of 1,520. It is the county seat of Stanton County. Stanton was platted in 1870. Both the city and county are named after Edwin Stanton, secretary of war for president Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War.

Stanton was established in 1870. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,577 to 1,520 (-4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Stanton, 1868 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Pleasant Run post office opens
  3. 1870
    FoundingStanton is established
  4. 1871Post officeThe Pleasant Run post office closes
  5. 1871Post officeThe Stanton post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1906Born hereClaude E. Welch is born here
  8. 1915BuiltStanton Carnegie Library is built
  9. 1921Born hereRonald H. Strahle is born here
  10. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Stanton, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Stanton, Nebraska N side of Ivy St2010Stanton, Nebraska N side of Ivy StStanton, Nebraska Heritage Museum2010Stanton, Nebraska Heritage MuseumNEMap-doton-Stanton2005NEMap-doton-Stanton
On the map

Stanton on the map, 1963 to 1985

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

Stanton on the 1963 USGS mapStanton on the 1985 USGS map1963Stanton 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 Stanton.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Stanton

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2018
Stanton Carnegie Library
Stanton Carnegie Library, built 1915
Buildings
All 1 listings
Stanton Carnegie LibraryBuilding · listed 2018

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

People over time

Stanton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,627

Between 248 and 1,627 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Stanton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Claude E. WelchAmerican surgeon · b. 1906
R
Ronald H. StrahleAmerican politician · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Stanton’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Pleasant Run, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pleasant Run
1868–1871
Stanton
1871–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Stanton Mobile Park
Gone or out of use
Stantonlocale

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

Questions about Stanton’s history

What year was Stanton founded?

In 1870, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Stanton’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1880 counted 248 people here.

How does Stanton rank for history?

Stanton is more historic than 64% 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 Stanton?

One place: the Stanton Carnegie Library (listed 2018).

How old are the homes in Stanton?

40% of Stanton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1956.

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.