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Jefferson County, Nebraska

25 topographic sheets cover 17 settlements here, and 14 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

14 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Nebraska within the United States
Jefferson County within Nebraska

What the record shows

  • 176 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 14 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 12 buildings and 2 districts.
  • 4 of the 14 listings were added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 17 populated places in this county; 17 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

14

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Colman Housebuilding198282003191
Anna C. Diller Opera Housebuilding198888000932
District No. 1 School of Jefferson Countybuilding199797001520
District No. 10 Schoolbuilding197878001702
Fairbury Commercial Historic Districtdistrict199797000610
Fairbury Jr/Sr High School and Gymnasium-Auditoriumbuilding199999000391
Fairbury Public-Carnegie Librarybuilding198585002141
Fairbury Rock Island Depot and Freight Housebuilding199696000681
IOOF Temple Buildingbuilding198787000925
Jefferson County Courthousebuilding197272000751
John C. Kesterson Housebuilding2019100004142
People's State Bankbuilding198484000509
Woral C. Smith Lime Kiln and Limestone Housebuilding197474001124
Steele City Historic Districtdistrict197272000752

Wildfire, 2003 to 2020

164 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 164 of them, burning about 3,363 acres. 3 started naturally and 2 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning104
Equipment and vehicle use22
Missing data/not specified/undetermined17
Power generation/transmission/distribution6
Recreation and ceremony4
Natural3
Smoking3
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Arson/incendiarism2
Fireworks1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
23 March 2016Debris and open burning700 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
14 March 2015Debris and open burning450 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
15 March 2015Debris and open burning401 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
14 March 2009Debris and open burning200 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
14 March 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined136 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
28 February 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined120 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
16 March 2015Debris and open burning120 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
3 November 2020Debris and open burning100 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1956 to 2026

60 of 526 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 526 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 3 injuries and about $14,460,010 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail284
Thunderstorm Wind172
Tornado26
Flash Flood24
Flood10
Heavy Rain4
Funnel Cloud3
Lightning3

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2015FloodPowell1 killed, $5,000,000Extremely heavy rainfall of 6 to 10 inches fell across the northern basin of the Little Blue River. This cause the river to swell to record levels around the Fairbury area. The flooding resulted in the mandatory evacuations of areas of the western and southern parts of town, to the west of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. The flooding of some residents along the river did result in one fatality of an elderly residence in her basement. The river crested at 25.42 feet or 6.92 feet above flood stage.
April 1956Tornado (F3)not stated1 hurt, $250,000no account filed
May 2014Tornado (EF1)Daykin1 hurtThis tornado developed in open country southeast of Daykin and traveled northeast into Saline county with a total track of 15.5 miles (5.8 miles in Jefferson county).
June 1984Thunderstorm Windnot stated1 hurtno account filed
July 1978Tornado (F2)not stated$2,500,000no account filed
May 2008Tornado (EF2)Reynolds$1,750,000This tornado was a continuation of a long-tracked tornado that started in Jewel county Kansas and tracked into Thayer county Nebraska before crossing into Jefferson county Nebraska. The tornado did EF3 damage in Kansas and EF2 damage in Jefferson county. ||In Jefferson county the tornado started 2 miles west and 1 1/4 mile north of Reynolds, knocking over large tree branches, snapping trees and overturning several center pivot irrigation systems. The storm tracked northeast from there continuing to snap wooden power poles and causing additional tree damage as well as farm outbuilding damage. The tornado crossed the Little Blue River 2 3/4 miles northwest of Fairbury before turning east where it attained EF2 strength. There it tore the roof off of a house and destroyed a garage and shed 1 mile west of Highway 15. Heading east from there it hit the Fairbury airport where hangers were damaged. East of the airport, a large barn was destroyed and large trees snapped. The tornado finally lifted about 3 miles east and 3 miles north of Fairbury. From the there the parent thunderstorm continued to produce additional wind damage from eastern Jefferson county into Gage county. In total the tornado caused serious damage to 5 houses in Jefferson county.
April 2010Tornado (EF1)Diller$650,000An Assessment team from the NWS determined that a tornado tracked around 3 miles west through northwest of the Diller area. The damage path was around 300 yards at its widest. Trees and farm outbuildings were damaged along its path and 35 large power poles were snapped. A house in the area also sustained major damage to the roof and windows and the upper floor was partially shifted from the lower floor and a wall was bowed outward and garage destroyed. A center irrigation pivot was damaged at the tornadoes lifting point.
May 2015Flash FloodDaykin$500,000The emergency manager reported that flash flooding continued as heavy rainfall continued during the overnight. The flooding destroyed a bridge along state highway 15 in northern Jefferson County.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindReynolds$500,000An area of apparently straight line wind damage was reported from southwest of Fairbury to north of town. Grain bins were destroyed, roofs were damaged, cars thrown, trees were uprooted and power poles were snapped. This was the second slow moving supercell to track across Jefferson county this evening.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindReynolds$500,000A supercell thunderstorm produced a 20 mile long path of damage due to downburst winds across Jefferson county. The winds were estimated at between 80 and 90 mph. The winds toppled trees and damaged roofs and windows most significantly in a 3 block wide swath in southern Fairbury. Power poles were snapped and several sheds and garages were also destroyed in this area. In rural areas there were center pivot irrigation systems and grain bins overturned as well as scattered tree damage.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindReynolds$400,000This slow moving supercell earlier produced a tornado in the adjacent county in northern Kansas. In Nebraska, near Reynolds, most of the damage was apparently caused by straight line winds, possibly from the rear flank downdraft, estimated at close to 100 mph. The strong winds stripped corn nearly to the ground in this area, overturned center pivot irrigation systems and grain bins and did some outbuilding damage. The winds also uprooted trees which blocked Highway 8 in town.
May 1996Tornado (F1)Harbine$350,000no account filed
June 2008Flash FloodHelvey$250,000Heavy rain caused flash flooding that washed out several roads and a bridge near Daykin and also produced runoff from farm fields that flooded across Highway 15 north of Fairbury. Rainfall from the thunderstorms was likely 2 to 4 inches from late afternoon of June 4 into the early morning hours of June 5.
May 1996Tornado (F1)Gladstone$250,000no account filed
August 1987Tornado (F2)not stated$250,000no account filed
April 1976Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
June 1967Tornado (F2)not stated$250,000no account filed
May 2004Tornado (F1)Daykin$220,000See description below
April 2012Thunderstorm WindDaykin$100,000Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph downed large trees in Daykin which caused some house damage and a welcome sign into town was knocked over. Several center pivots were flipped southwest of town and a private airplane hanger and other tree damage was noted southwest of town as well.
May 2007Flash FloodDiller$75,000Rainfall of 4 to 6 inches produced flash flooding across parts of Jefferson county during the early morning hours of May 6th, 2007. One area of flooding was noted along Highway 103 near Diller where water was flowing across the road. At least 1 county road bridge and a number of culverts were washed out in the area.
June 2015Flash FloodFairbury$50,000Emergency management reported multiple roads flooded in the city of Fairbury.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindDiller$50,000Thunderstorm wind gusts uprooted a few trees and downed 2 power poles. Two roofs were also taken off machine sheds, the damage path was about a quarter of a mile wide.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindEndicott$40,000Thunderstorm winds did tree damage and downed power lines around Endicott. Some roofs were also severely damaged.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindFairbury$40,000Thunderstorm winds blew a roof off of a home near Fairbury.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindThompson$29,810A severe wind event struck Jefferson County, Nebraska, during the morning of August 10th, 2025, impacting the area along a swath that extended from the southwest to the northeast portion of the county. The limited measured reports indicated gusts up to 65 miles per hour in Plymouth and 62 miles per hour 6 miles west-northwest of Fairbury. However, damage reports suggested pockets of much more intense winds occurred across the county.||The highest estimated wind speed was 95 miles per hour 4 miles west of Endicott, reported by Law Enforcement, which resulted in a power pole down and a corresponding power outage. Further east, an estimated 90 miles per hour gust caused significant damage to a large grain bin 2 miles west-southwest of Plymouth. Given these impacts to public utility and agricultural infrastructure, the damage cost estimated for public infrastructure was $29,813.00. This relatively lower figure indicates that while severe, the core damage was highly localized, and this estimate only covers damage to public assets, not private property losses.
July 1978Tornadonot stated$25,000no account filed
April 1963Tornado (F2)not stated$25,000no account filed
May 1959Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindFairbury$20,000Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 mph snapped a large tree which crashed onto a roof of a nearby house causing significant damage to the roof and one wall.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindFairbury$15,000Machine shed destroyed and cattle shed damaged.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindFairbury$15,000no account filed
June 2015Flash FloodDaykin$10,000Water was reported over several rural county roads.
May 2015Flash FloodDaykin$10,000Extremely heavy rainfall of 5 to 10 inches occurred across the northern half of Jefferson County. This led to flash flooding across a large part of the northern half of the county with numerous road closures reported.
August 2007FloodPlymouth$10,000Heavy rain produced flooding along the Little Blue River in early August 2007. The river at Fairbury reached 19.8 feet around 115 am CDT August 2nd, flood stage is 15 feet. The Little Blue River at Fairbury was above flood stage from around 830 am on August 1st until 645 pm on August 2nd. Although the flooding affected mainly agricultural lowlands, there were at least 10 to 12 spots where the water covered county roads, and Highway 4 was also covered by flood waters for a time. ||Fairbury reported 4 inches of rain from the storm with around 8 inches unofficially reported just west of the county line in the town of Alexandria.
May 1995Tornado (F0)Northern Daykin$10,000A tornado did damage to a center pivot west of Alexandria, uprooted trees near Alexandria and did wind damage to a barn and took large tree limbs about three miles east and southeast of Daykin.
June 1997Flash FloodFairbury$8,000Ten homes had basements flooded as the Little Blue river rose out of its banks.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindFairbury$8,000Thunderstorm winds blew down a metal storage shed.
June 2017Flash FloodDaykin$5,000Heavy rain caused roads to be covered with water between Plymouth and Swanton in Northern Jefferson County.
May 2007Flash FloodFairbury$5,000Heavy rainfall of an inch or so in an hour or less produced flash flooding of a few streets in Fairbury. In addition, heavy rain caused flash flooding along portions of Indian Creek near Diller according to Jefferson county Emergency Management. A few county roads were closed due to the flood waters.
May 1994HailDaykin$5,000Hail up to quarter-size damaged roofs and 500 acres of crops.
June 1997LightningEndicott$4,000Lightning struck a storage shed owned by Union Pacific Railroad.
July 2008FloodDaykin$1,000Slow moving thunderstorms dropped 2 to 3 inches of rain over a small area of western Jefferson county in a two hour period. The heavy rain caused some field and ditch runoff to flood across a few county roads east of Daykin, forcing the closure of one. The flooding mainly just washed some gravel off the road and briefly covered crops in low areas.
August 2000HailPlymouth$1,000Hail up to 1 inch in diameter nearly covered the ground white from southwest of Plymouth into town. The hail also broke several windows in town.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindGladstone$1,000A thunderstorm wind gust estimated at over 60 mph destroyed a calf barn by throwing it's roof onto a nearby heifer barn and knocking down it's walls. Fortunately no cattle were injured.
May 1995HailDaykin$1,000no account filed
May 2002Thunderstorm WindPlymouth$500Thunderstorm winds caused a large tree to break in Plymouth causing minor damage to a roof. The winds also broke a window, storm window and screen at the home.
May 1993HailFairbury$500Golf ball-size hail caused minor damage. Damage included breaking the windshield of a truck.
May 1996Thunderstorm WindFairbury$200no account filed
March 2026HailSteele City-Emergency management report of hail measured at 1.50 inch in diameter. Photo of several 1.25 to 1.5 inch diameter stones.
March 2026HailPlymouth-Public report of hail estimated at 1.00 inch in diameter.
March 2026HailPlymouth-Public report of hail measured at 2.00 inch in diameter.
March 2026HailPlymouth-Public report of hail measured at 1.00 inch in diameter.
March 2026HailShea-Emergency management report of hail measured at 1.25 inch in diameter.
April 2026HailFairbury-Emergency management report of hail estimated up to 1 inch in diameter in Fairbury, NE.
April 2026HailFairbury-Public report relayed by emergency management of hail estimated up to 1.75 inches in diameter in Fairbury, NE.
April 2026HailFairbury-Public report of hail estimated up to 1 inch in diameter in Fairbury, NE.
April 2026HailFairbury-Public report of hail measured up to 1.75 inches in diameter near Fairbury, NE.
April 2026HailFairbury-Public report of hail measured up to 2 inches in diameter near Fairbury, NE.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindPlymouth-Public report on social media of a measured 66 mph wind gust.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindFairbury-Emergency manager report of a measured 70 mph wind gust.

Mines and quarries

1 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 1 working inside this county. It still produces. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Clay1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Endicott Pit & PlantClayProducer

Every populated place in the county

17

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

The vanished settlements of Jefferson County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.