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Bradshaw is a village of 273 residents (2020 Census), down from 336 in 2000. It was platted in 1879 when the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad extended to the site, and takes its name from Bradshaw, the maiden name of the wife of the original townsite owner.
Bradshaw has twice been struck by severe tornadoes. A tornado killed twelve people in 1890. Far more significant was the tornado of May 5, 1964, part of what's now documented as the 1964 Central Nebraska tornado outbreak: the National Weather Service rated the storm F5 after a farm northwest of Bradshaw was completely leveled at that intensity, killing two people at that location. Multiple secondary sources describe it as Nebraska's only officially rated F5 tornado, though this superlative isn't restated in every source, so it's worth treating as widely — rather than universally — confirmed. Across its roughly 70-mile path, the storm killed four people total and injured about fifty. Baseball player Ken Brondell is associated with Bradshaw.
Bradshaw (pop. 273), platted in 1879, is remembered for the devastating May 5, 1964 tornado — widely reported as Nebraska's only officially rated F5 — that struck near the village as part of a larger central Nebraska outbreak.