About Pilger
Pilger is a village in Stanton County, Nebraska, roughly 85 miles north-west of Omaha. The 2020 census recorded 240 residents. The village covers 0.30 square miles.
History
Pilger was platted in 1880 when the railroad was extended to the point, and it was named after Peter Pilger, the original owner of the townsite. It was incorporated as a village in 1887. Rail service ended in 1982 following flooding on the Elkhorn River. Abandonment was applied for and granted that same year, and the tracks were removed in 1985.
The 2014 tornadoes
On the afternoon of 16 June 2014 two tornadoes, both rated EF4, moved past Pilger at the same time. One passed through the village and the other just to the east. Two people were killed that day, including a five-year-old girl in Pilger, and around twenty people were injured. Accounts of the extent of the damage differ: some put it at more than half the buildings destroyed or severely damaged, others at about 75 per cent of the village. The school and a church were among the buildings lost. One account records the village population falling from 352 to 240 after the storm.
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Pilger is an incorporated village in Stanton County, Nebraska, platted in 1880 along the expanding railroad and named for townsite owner Peter Pilger; it was formally incorporated as a village in 1887. Long a small farming community, Pilger became nationally known on June 16, 2014, when a single supercell thunderstorm produced twin EF4 tornadoes that struck the village almost simultaneously, an extraordinarily rare meteorological event caught on widely shared video, destroying or severely damaging a large share of the town's buildings.
The 2014 twin tornado disaster killed two people, injured roughly 20, caused about $14 million in damage, and dramatically accelerated the village's population decline (from 352 residents in 2010 to 240 in 2020). Despite the devastation — including the destruction of its middle school and the near-total loss of St. John Lutheran Church — Pilger rebuilt with the help of FEMA aid and thousands of volunteers, and the community continues to mark the anniversary of the tornadoes as a defining moment in its history.
Navigate & Explore Pilger
Get directions: search "Pilger Nebraska" in Waze or Google Maps
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
Stanton County County Cameras: View Stanton County County cameras