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Bennington is a city in Douglas County, Nebraska, founded in the 1880s when the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad extended through the area. The settlement was originally known as Bunz Town before being renamed for Bennington, Vermont. Bennington has grown rapidly in recent decades as the Omaha metropolitan area has expanded northward, more than doubling in population from 937 residents in 2000 to 2,026 by the 2020 census, after passing through 1,458 in 2010. The city suffered significant damage on April 26, 2024, when an EF4 tornado tore through the community, severely damaging 60 to 65 homes — one of the more destructive recent tornadoes to strike the Omaha area. Covering about two-thirds of a square mile, Bennington continues to develop as one of the fastest-growing communities on Omaha's northern edge.
Bennington began as "Bunz Town" in the 1880s before being renamed for Bennington, Vermont. One of the fastest-growing Omaha-area suburbs, its population more than doubled from 937 (2000) to 2,026 (2020). An EF4 tornado severely damaged 60 to 65 homes here on April 26, 2024.
Adjacent Counties & Nearby Towns
Bennington sits in the northern part of Douglas County, which is bounded by Washington County to the north, Dodge County to the northwest, Saunders County to the west across the Platte River, Sarpy County to the south, and Pottawattamie County, Iowa to the east across the Missouri River. The Elkhorn River runs through the western part of the county, just west of Bennington.
Within Douglas County. Elkhorn, annexed by the City of Omaha in 2007, lies about 7 miles southwest. Waterloo is roughly 9 miles southwest and Valley about 10 miles west-southwest, both on the Elkhorn River. Downtown Omaha is about 14 miles east-southeast, and Ralston lies further south inside the Omaha metropolitan area.
North into Washington County. Kennard is about 8 miles north-northwest, Fort Calhoun about 9 miles northeast on the Missouri River bluffs, Arlington about 12 miles west-northwest, and Blair, the Washington County seat, about 13 miles north. Distances given here are straight-line measurements.
Points of Interest & Events
Glacier Creek Preserve — At 14810 State Street on Bennington's southern edge, this 525-acre restored tallgrass prairie is the University of Nebraska at Omaha's only field station. The land was homesteaded in 1880 and farmed for decades before being donated to UNO in 1959 as Glen Haven Farm; 140 acres were reseeded with native prairie species in 1970 as Allwine Prairie Preserve, and purchases between 2009 and 2019 expanded it to its present size. It is unusual among Nebraska preserves in protecting an entire spring-fed sub-watershed of the Missouri River drainage. UNO runs a general public access program alongside its research and school programmes.
City parks. Bennington maintains Centennial Park on Main Street, Tim Ohrt Park at 152nd and Bennington Road, and Johns-Bohn Park at 162nd and Bennington Road, plus a sports complex at 162nd and Bennington Road with volleyball, tennis and basketball courts and a soccer complex, and a baseball complex and basketball court on North 158th Plaza.
Bennington Public Library — The city library serves a community that has more than doubled in size since 2000.
Newport Landing and the Bennington lakes — Several man-made lakes on the north side of town anchor the Newport Landing and neighbouring lake developments. These are residential lakes managed by their homeowners associations rather than public recreation areas, so boating and fishing there are generally limited to residents and their guests.
Bennington Daze — The city's annual celebration, held every June, with a parade, street dance, movie in the park, sports tournaments and games. A Bennington Farmers' Market runs on selected Saturday mornings from June through September at Centennial Park, and the city holds community garage sales in the spring and again in late summer.
Runza and Subway are among the Bennington businesses currently listed in this directory.
Education & Health
Schools. Bennington Public Schools is an independent suburban district in north-central Douglas County and one of the fastest-growing districts in Nebraska, with roughly 4,400 students across eight PK-12 schools. The district runs Bennington High School, Bennington Middle School and Bennington South Middle School, along with five elementary schools: Anchor Pointe, Bennington, Heritage, Pine Creek and Stratford. Bennington High School enrolled 957 students in 2021-22; its teams are the Badgers, whose mascot is a badger named Tuffy, and they play in royal blue and white.
Health care. Bennington has no hospital of its own, but it sits close to the north-west edge of the Omaha hospital network. Methodist Women's Hospital, a 137-bed facility that opened in 2010 in the Elkhorn area, is about 7 miles south-southwest and is the nearest hospital; CHI Health Immanuel in north Omaha is about 8 miles east-southeast. The full range of Omaha metropolitan hospitals, including the Nebraska Medical Center, is within a half-hour drive. The city also operates its own police department and volunteer fire department.
Highway Access
Nebraska Highway 36 is Bennington's main road, running along the northern edge of town and known locally as Bennington Road. Westward it crosses the Elkhorn River and runs on to its western terminus at U.S. Route 275 near Fremont. Eastward it widens to a four-lane divided highway through increasingly built-up country, becomes McKinley Avenue inside Omaha, and ends at U.S. Route 75 in the Florence neighbourhood. Along the way it meets Nebraska Highway 31, Nebraska Highway 133 and Interstate 680.
Nebraska Highway 31 crosses NE-36 west of Bennington. It runs north to U.S. Route 30 near Kennard and south through the Elkhorn area toward West Dodge Road, Interstate 80 and Gretna, making it the main north-south route on this side of the metro.
Interstate access. Interstate 680 is the nearest interstate, reached by following NE-36 south-east into Omaha; from there I-680 links to Interstate 80 and Interstate 29. Eppley Airfield, Omaha's commercial airport, is about a half-hour drive east.
Navigate & Explore Bennington
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Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
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