County Seat: Stanton
Founded: Created 1856 as Izard County; renamed Stanton 1862; organized January 23, 1867
Named For: Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln’s Secretary of War — and, as Izard, for Governor Mark W. Izard
License Plate Prefix: 53
Population: 5,842 (2020 census)
Area: 431 sq mi

History

Stanton County was created in 1855 as Izard County, after territorial governor Mark Izard, and renamed in 1862 — most accounts say for Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln’s Secretary of War. Stanton has been the county seat throughout. German settlers moved into the Elkhorn valley here from the 1860s, and the county has stayed small, rural and agricultural ever since.

Pilger is the name most people outside the county now know: on 16 June 2014 twin EF4 tornadoes struck the village simultaneously, destroying roughly three-quarters of it. The village rebuilt, and its water tower slogan — “Pilger, Nebraska: Too Tough To Die” — is meant literally.

Geography

Stanton County is one of Nebraska’s smaller counties at about 430 square miles, lying in the Elkhorn River valley east of Norfolk. The land is gently rolling farmland with wooded bottoms along the Elkhorn, which crosses the county past Stanton and Pilger. It borders Wayne County to the north, Cuming County to the east, Platte County and Colfax County to the south and Madison County to the west.

Outdoors — Camping, RV, Hunting & Fishing

Stanton County has no state park, but it has one genuinely good all-round outdoor stop, and it is in this county, not Madison — a common filing error.

Maskenthine Lake Recreation Area

About ten miles east of Norfolk and two or three miles north of Stanton, off 839th Road. Roughly 740 acres with a 98-acre reservoir, managed by the Lower Elkhorn NRD.

33 camper pads with electric — pedestals carry 20-amp, 30-amp and 50-amp. Dump station on site. Water spigots are spread around the park rather than at every pad, so campers hook up where they can. Shower house with ADA-accessible restrooms, open 1 May to 1 October only. Electric pad $25, tent $10, overflow $10. Fourteen-day maximum; reservations through the NRD up to sixty days ahead.

No park entry permit and no entrance fee — this is NRD ground, not a state park. Access is by about three miles of graded road: follow the brown signs rather than your GPS. Users report about thirty feet as the practical rig limit, though no limit is published.

An old listing on the town website still shows $5–$14 fees and calls it a state recreation area. Both are out of date.

Fishing

Maskenthine Reservoir — 98 acres, holding bluegill, channel catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye, with pike, walleye and channel cat stocked annually. Boat ramp on the west side and a 5 mph no-wake rule enforced. Chet’s Pier, an accessible fishing pier south of the swimming beach, reaches water about eighteen feet deep. There is a sand swimming beach at the south-west end.

Red Fox WMA near Stanton has 25 acres of water with bluegill, carp, channel catfish, crappie and largemouth bass; a ramp and restrooms are not confirmed. No park entry permit applies anywhere in the county.

Hunting

Wood Duck WMA lies between Stanton and Madison in the Elkhorn valley — in Stanton County, despite the “Madison” in its map-sheet name. Red Fox WMA is near Stanton. Neither has published acreage. Hunting is permitted at Maskenthine outside hundred-yard buffers from buildings, and at Pilger Recreation Area. Open Fields and Waters tracts change annually.

Trails and other outdoor

Maskenthine has a twenty-acre arboretum, hiking and biking trails, equestrian trails, a disc golf course, the swimming beach and winter sports — the best all-round outdoor stop in the county by some distance.

Pilger Recreation Area, just north of Pilger, has walking trails and an archery range with a 3D course. The NRD states plainly that there is no camping there and that many former amenities have been removed, so do not go expecting facilities. There is no rail-trail in the county; the Cowboy Trail’s nearest point is Norfolk.

Events

The Stanton County Fair anchors the summer, and Pilger and Stanton each hold community celebrations.

Dates move year to year, so they are kept with the listings rather than repeated here.

Browse event listings in Stanton County →
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Stanton County at a Glance

Stanton County, Nebraska — about 430 square miles of Elkhorn valley farmland east of Norfolk, created in 1855 as Izard County and renamed in 1862. County seat Stanton. 81 listings across 3 towns.

Getting there: US-275 crosses the county through Stanton and Pilger; NE-15 and NE-57 run north to south.

For visitors: Maskenthine Lake Recreation Area — a 98-acre reservoir with 33 electric camper pads, an on-site dump station, a twenty-acre arboretum, equestrian and disc golf trails and an accessible fishing pier. It is in Stanton County, not Madison, whatever the listings say. Pilger rebuilt itself after the twin EF4 tornadoes of June 2014.

Stanton County · Northeast Nebraska · County Cameras