BlockFrom the record
1 National Register listing published here.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Stanton County, Nebraska
19 topographic sheets cover 3 settlements here, and 1 property is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 27 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 1 property here is on the National Register of Historic Places, listed as a building.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 3 populated places in this county; 3 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
Places on the National Register
1Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
| Photograph | Property | Type | Listed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanton Carnegie Library | building | 2018 | 100003095 |
Wildfire, 2007 to 2020
81 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 81 of them, burning about 642 acres. 2 started naturally and none was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 31 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 17 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 March 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 26 March 2012 | Debris and open burning | 52 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 27 March 2013 | Debris and open burning | 50 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 27 April 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 6 March 2015 | Debris and open burning | 50 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 18 March 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 2 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 16 November 2007 | Debris and open burning | 30 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1954 to 2025
60 of 299 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 299 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 22 injuries and about $20,717,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 119 |
| Hail | 113 |
| Tornado | 36 |
| Flash Flood | 16 |
| Flood | 8 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 |
| Lightning | 1 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF4) | Stanton | 1 killed, 20 hurt, $12,000,000 | This tornado developed about 5.5 miles southwest of the town of Pilger and moved directly northeast directly striking the town. The tornado did violent damage within the town of Pilger. Nearly 75 percent of the structures in the town received some damage, while structures near the center of the tornado were completely destroyed. A 5-year-old girl was killed and her mother seriously injured while attempting to take cover from their mobile home to a storm shelter. The tornado continued to move northeast past the town crossing Highway 275 about 1 mile west of the Cuming County line. The tornado continued northeast exiting Stanton County about 2.25 miles northeast of the city of Pilger into Cuming County. |
| May 1975 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | 1 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pilger | 1 hurt, $164,000 | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 to 70 mph overturned a semi-trailer truck on Highway 15 north of Pilger injuring the driver. |
| May 1954 | Tornado (F4) | not stated | $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF4) | Stanton | $2,000,000 | This tornado began to the southwest of the Stanton and increased in intensity and size as it moved to the north northeast, passing to the west of the city of Stanton by about 2 miles. The tornado did the most significant damage to the north of Stanton where two farmsteads were completely destroyed just to the south of Highway 275. Here two vehicles, one car and one truck, were picked up by the tornado and tossed over a quarter of a mile. The tornado also completely destroyed two other homes and outbuildings, as well as debarking trees. The tornado continued northeast of Highway 275 for about 3 miles before roping out. |
| June 2010 | Flood | Stanton | $1,500,000 | Rainfall of at least 3 to 5 inches fell over much of the upper Elkhorn River basin in the week ending 7am 6/12, including 1 to 2 inch 24 hour amounts ending 7am the 12th. This caused record or near record flooding along the Elkhorn River from around Clearwater and Neligh downstream to the Elkhorn's confluence with the Platte River. The flooding was prolonged by additional rains the next few days. In Stanton county at least 70 miles of gravel roads along the Elkhorn were damaged by flood waters, two bridges were destroyed and several others seriously damaged. Several culverts were also washed away. In addition, the main water supply line to Stanton that ran under the Elkhorn sustained damage on the 15th prompting temporary measures to route water into town through a backup measure. Farm fields along the river also sustained damage to crops and some had land covered in sand as the river receded. The Elkhorn River near Pilger reached a record crest of just over 15 feet during the evening of June 16th, flood stage is 12 feet. The river at Pilger was above flood stage from the morning of June 11th until the early morning hours of the 19th. |
| June 2017 | Tornado (EF1) | Pilger | $350,000 | This is a continuation of the tornado that was in Wayne County. The tornado continued moving east-southeastward. Several sheds and barns were damaged or flattened by the tornado during the end of the tornado's path. |
| June 1984 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1983 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| July 1981 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1967 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1954 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Stanton | $100,000 | Hail a little larger than baseball size caused significant damage in the Woodland Park vicinity in far northwest Stanton county. Numerous homes had holes punched in their roofs and vinyl siding. Cars were also damaged, including broken windshields. |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | $90,000 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF1) | Pilger | $50,000 | This tornado developed to the southeast of the Pilger tornado as it was nearing the town of Pilger. The tornado stuck one farmstead in Stanton County along 1st Road before exiting into Cuming County about 2.5 miles southeast of Pilger. At this farmstead outbuildings were destroyed, trees were downed, and power lines were blown down. The tornado then continued into Cuming County. |
| October 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | $50,000 | This was the first of 2 supercells that tracked across parts of Stanton county this evening causing damage. Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 80 mph downed power lines and destroyed several hog and grain bins south of Stanton. |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pilger to | $50,000 | Strong winds caused about $27,000 in damage to farm buildings from three miles west to one mile east of Pilger. |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | not stated | $50,000 | Strong winds toppled a grain bin, destroyed small outbuildings and moved a garage off of its foundation. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pilger | $36,000 | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 to 70 mph overturned a semi-trailer truck on Highway 15. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | $35,000 | Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 60 mph damaged some farm outbuildings. |
| June 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Stanton | $30,000 | no account filed |
| July 1964 | Tornado | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pilger | $20,000 | Thunderstorm winds near 70 mph downed large trees from Pilger to around 4 miles north of town and did some minor house damage. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | $20,000 | Thunderstorms produced strong winds which tipped over a grain bin and did damage to a home and shed. |
| October 1994 | Tornado (F0) | Stanton | $20,000 | A small tornado was on the ground less than one half a mile, hitting two farms damaging outbuildings. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Norfolk | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | $16,000 | An equipment shed at Pilger Park was crushed by a falling tree. Numerous other trees and power lines were downed. A barn was destroyed by high winds. Power lines were ripped off houses. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | $15,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph downed two trees onto a house along Highway 57. The winds were accompanied by hail up to 2 inches in diameter. |
| October 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | $15,000 | The second supercell to track across Stanton county this evening also produced thunderstorm winds estimated at around 80 mph. The damage from this storm, a hog barn destroyed and several trees uprooted, was a little farther south than the first storm. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | $14,000 | Thunderstorm winds that were measured at 65 mph by emergency management uprooted trees at a golf course just south of town and caused tree...building and sign damage in Stanton. |
| June 2010 | Flood | Pilger | $10,000 | Several periods of heavy rain fell across the Maple Creek basin from June 8th through the 14th produced a period of flooding along the East Fork of Maple Creek in southwest Stanton county. The high water flooded county roads in the area and also flooded the intersection of Highways 32 and 15 prompting their closure. Farmland near the creek was also flooded. The main stem of Maple Creek near Nickerson, in Dodge county, crested around 15.5 feet during the early morning of June 12th and was at or above its 10 foot flood stage from the afternoon of June 10th through late in the evening on the 14th. |
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Stanton | $10,000 | Rainfall of around 2 inches in an hour or so fell across the East Fork of Maple Creek basin during the morning of 6/10. The rainfall fell on saturated soils due to several inches of rain that fell earlier in the week and produce flash flooding along sections of the East Fork of Maple Creek including across the bridge near the Junction of Highways 15 and 32 forcing the closure of Highway 15. Farm fields near the creek also flooded. Damage included flooded crops and gravel washed from some county roads. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | 5 W Stanton | $10,000 | Large garage destroyed by wind. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pilger | $5,000 | A thunderstorm wind gust estimated at over 60 mph knocked down a tree damaging a car northwest of Pilger. |
| June 1991 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $2,500 | no account filed |
| June 1980 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $2,500 | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Stanton | $2,000 | Rainfall of 3.75 inches was measured in the Stanton area during the evening of 6/20, this produced flash flooding across several streets in town. |
| May 2008 | Flash Flood | Stanton | $2,000 | Heavy rain caused flash flooding across county roads in Stanton county north of Creston. Areas of high water continued well into Friday the 30th. |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pilger | $2,000 | Outbuildings damaged. |
| August 2007 | Flash Flood | Stanton | $1,000 | Heavy rain caused flash flooding across Highways 15 and 32 near their junction, prompting their closure. |
| October 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | $500 | Thunderstorm downburst winds estimated at over 60 mph blew out a screen and window on a house north of Stanton. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Stanton | - | Emergency manager report of hail measured up to 1 inch in diameter. |
| May 2024 | Funnel Cloud | Stanton | - | The Stanton County Emergency Manager reported a couple of funnel clouds. |
| May 2024 | Flash Flood | Pilger | - | Emergency management reported water over Highway 15 1 miles south of Highway 32. The depth of the water was unknown at the time of this report. Later in the afternoon, water and debris were reported to be flowing over several roads in this area. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | - | Over 20 power poles were reported down by the emergency manager. A tin outbuilding had a portion of the roof blown off in addition to large tree limbs broken. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pilger | - | Emergency management reported half a miles of powerlines down on Highway 15 near its intersection with County Road 831. |
| April 2024 | Hail | Stanton | - | Emergency management sent in a photo of hail in Stanton, NE. Most of the hailstones were around half an inch with the largest stones up to quarter size. The ground was white from the amount of hail that had fallen. |
| April 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Stanton | - | This tornado touched down just on the Madison side of the Madison-Stanton County line before crossing into Stanton County less than a mile north of the East Sherwood Road and 558th Avenue intersection. Right as it crossed the county line, it hit a warehouse, blowing off the majority of its roof and blowing in a garage door. Nearby trees just to the south of the warehouse were snapped near the base of their trunks. This tornado continued north-northeast for another half a mile before dissipating. The maximum estimated wind speed from this tornado in Stanton County was 103 miles per hour, and the average width was estimated to be 50 yards. |
| June 2024 | Flash Flood | Stanton | - | Emergency management reported flooding on and around Highway 32 between Highway 15 and Highway 57. |
| June 2024 | Funnel Cloud | Pilger | - | A funnel cloud was reported by a storm chaser. |
| June 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Pilger | - | A very brief tornado caused window damage to a home and several trees. Maximum winds in this tornado were estimated to be at 84 miles per hour. The width of this tornado was also estimated to be 20 yards. |
| June 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Pilger | - | Documented from storm chaser video, this tornado developed just northeast of Pilger, north of Highway 275. It then traveled across a feedlot producing minor damage to a sun-shade before crossing into Cuming County. The peak estimated winds in this tornado were 70 miles per hour, with a width of 25 yards. |
| June 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Stanton | - | Based on chaser video as well as drone footage, this tornado developed 5.5 miles north of Clarkson, NE and moved east northeast. The tornado then produced EF-1 damage to a machine shed on a farmstead. The narrow tornado continued northeast another mile before lifting. Peak estimated winds in this tornado were at 101 miles per hour. The maximum width and average width of this tornado were both estimated to be 50 yards. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | - | Law enforcement reported a tree down on a house. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pilger | - | A personal weather station measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | - | Law enforcement reported a tree down on a house. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pilger | - | A personal weather station measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph. |
| May 2023 | Tornado (EF1) | Stanton | - | An intermittent tornado damage track was noted along the west flank of a focused and elongated area of downburst winds. Initial damage was to a center pivot and three wooden double-posted electrical transmission structures. After that, the damage was largely to trees although there were a couple of farm outbuildings damaged along the track. One east- west oriented tree line had a focused damage area approximately 200 yards wide. it appears likely that this tornado track had some gaps in it based on the somewhat sporadic damage pattern. Special thanks to Stanton county emergency management for their assistance in this survey and drone-based evaluation. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanton | - | Emergency manager reported a 30-inch diameter tree snapped off. |
| September 2023 | Hail | Stanton | - | Emergency manager reported hail ranging from 0.25 inches up to 1 inch. |
Every populated place in the county
3Named 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.
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.