Community Information

The City of Stanton, located in northeast Nebraska, 12 miles southeast of Norfolk at the junction of Nebraska Highways 24 and 57, is the county seat of Stanton County and is named for the Secretary of War in President Lincoln’s cabinet.

The town of Stanton, platted in 1870, was incorporated in 1881. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad was built through the county in 1879.

The first white settlers arrived in 1865 from Indiana and Wisconsin. Stanton was platted in 1870 with little growth until after the coming of the railroad in 1879, when more than two dozen businesses sprung up and two churches were organized. Stanton was incorporated in 1881, the same year a tornado struck the community. By 1893, Stanton had bounced back gaining enough population to become a second class city. The 2000 census lists the population as 1,627. Primary industries located in Stanton County are Nucor Steel and US Greenfiber, an insulation manufacturer.

Continued progress is evident with new schools, churches and homes. The first church built in Stanton, erected in 1878, is preserved by the County Historical Society and is listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings. A new high school was completed in 1996. The old high school now houses the Head Start program for pre-school children. Stanton has a wide variety of retail and service businesses on Main Street and the Uptown Brewery, a northeast Nebraska favorite, boasts the largest wine selection in the region.