Its Register listings are the Charles H. Morrill Homestead and the Victor E. Wilson House. Its Register listings are the Charles H. Morrill Homestead and the Victor E. Wilson House. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Stromsburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Stromsburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stromsburg is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stromsburg’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 Stromsburg’s 27.9 sits above most of its state (70% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 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 Stromsburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stromsburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1896Stromsburg sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stromsburg.
Every building
Stromsburg, building by building, 1889–1922
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.
Stromsburg was settled early in Nebraska history. A group of Swedish settlers from the town of Ockelbo arrived in the 1860s after several years in Illinois. This group was led by Lewis Headstrom, who was a real estate agent. Seeing some similarities to their old Swedish homeland the settlers formed what would be called Stromsburg, named after a section of Ockelbo, Sweden. By the 1880s, two brickyards were in operation in the town. Many buildings constructed of ‘native’ brick still stand, including the Viking Center, now a community center that was originally The Opera House; the Cornerstone Bank; two businesses on the east side of the square; and several homes. Brick streets still surround the city square in Stromsburg. A brick Carnegie library was built in Stromsburg in 1918. The downtown area of Stromsburg has a town square in its center. This square forms a park, with lawns and matu…
The Stromsburg post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Stromsburg rank for history?
Stromsburg is more historic than 78% 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 Stromsburg?
Two places: the Charles H. Morrill Homestead (listed 1973) and the Victor E. Wilson House (1988).
How old are the homes in Stromsburg?
47% of Stromsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1945.
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 (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), 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.
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