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Nebraska County
Stanton County, Nebraska
Stanton County's Elkhorn River valley and northeast Nebraska livestock heritage - from the Elkhorn River's Stanton County corridor (the Elkhorn River flowing through Stanton County provides fishing and wildlife habitat in the rolling northeast Nebraska agricultural landscape) to Stanton County's significant hog and cattle farming economy (large-scale hog confinement operations and cattle feeding have made Stanton County part of northeast Nebraska's most intensive livestock production corridor, with the agricultural economy defining the community's character and employment).
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Office: Stanton County Emergency Management Agency – 804 Ivy St, PO Box 347, Stanton, NE 68779 | (402) 439-2211 | Email: [email protected]; Director Mike Frohberg; established January 1989 as the county’s original Department of Civil Defense.
Sheriff: Stanton County Sheriff’s Office – 804 Ivy St, PO Box 635, Stanton, NE 68779 | (402) 439-2212 | Fax: (402) 439-2229 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Mike Unger.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-275 serves Stanton, the county seat and largest city, in the Elkhorn Valley of northeastern Nebraska, part of the Norfolk Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Notes: Stanton County was first established in 1856 as Izard County, honoring Nebraska’s second territorial governor Mark W. Izard; the name was changed in 1862 to Stanton, honoring Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson, though the county wasn’t formally organized until 1867. Roughly 5,740-5,840 residents across 431 square miles – one of Nebraska’s smallest counties by land area. The first homestead applications were filed November 18, 1865 by Jacob Hoffman and Francis Scott, though the very first farms belonged to Charles and Mitchell Sharp, who settled in autumn 1865. The fertile Elkhorn Valley attracted German, Norwegian, Czech, Irish Canadian, and Swedish settlers; over half the county’s population reported German ancestry as of the 2000 census. The town of Stanton, platted 1870, was previously known as Pleasant Run before incorporating in 1881; the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad reached the county in 1879. The village of Pilger, platted 1880 and incorporated 1887, is named for original townsite owner Peter Pilger.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Stanton County Courthouse – 804 Ivy St, Stanton, NE 68779.
Notes: The county’s genuine name-change history – from Izard County to Stanton County, honoring one of Abraham Lincoln’s most consequential cabinet members – is a distinctive piece of Civil War-era Nebraska heritage. The first large-scale farming operation in the county was the “Township Farm” of Walter Cragg and Ephraim Clark, an early experiment in diversified sectional agriculture (crops, orchards, swine, and cattle).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Stanton County Veterans’ Service Office – 804 Ivy St, Stanton, NE 68779; confirm current phone via stantoncounty.nebraska.gov.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via a Norfolk or Omaha VA clinic; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Stanton and Pilger public library addresses/phone via stantoncounty.nebraska.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The historic Stanton County Courthouse square and the Elkhorn River corridor are the county’s primary points of local interest.
Notes: The county’s genuine Civil War-era naming history (Izard County to Stanton County) is a distinctive local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Stanton County Assessor – 804 Ivy St, PO Box 895, Stanton, NE 68779 | (402) 439-2210 | Fax: (402) 439-2262 | Email: [email protected].
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated Stanton County animal shelter was confirmed – flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. The Nebraska Humane Society (Omaha), (402) 444-7800, and the Animal Shelter of Northeast Nebraska (Norfolk), (402) 750-4665, have both provided assistance to Stanton County in the past. Confirm current local options via stantoncounty.nebraska.gov or the Sheriff’s Office, (402) 439-2212.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Stanton County – confirm current contact via stantoncounty.nebraska.gov.
NOTES: Stanton County is the seventh and final county in the twelfth batch of the Nebraska v2 A+ sourced redo. The county’s genuine Civil War-era naming history – honoring Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton – is a distinctive local fact. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Stanton County
Stanton County is northeast Nebraska’s Elkhorn River livestock farming county – the intensive hog and cattle operations along the Elkhorn River corridor define one of Nebraska’s most agriculturally productive small counties.
Stanton (the county seat, population ~1,500) serves the county’s livestock farming communities between Norfolk and Wayne.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Stanton County Assessor at 804 Ivy Street, Suite 2, Stanton, NE 68779, phone 402-439-2222. NE property assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Stanton County District Court at 804 Ivy Street, Stanton, NE 68779, phone 402-439-2222, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
804 Ivy St., Stanton, NE 68779
(402) 439-2222
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Stanton County Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Stanton County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Stanton County Court, Probate Division 804 Ivy Street (mail: P.O. Box 347), Stanton, NE 68779 (402) 439-2222 Stanton County is in northeastern Nebraska, seated in the town of Stanton.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Nebraska adopted the Uniform Probate Code, codified as the Nebraska Probate Code (Neb. Rev. Stat. Chapter 30). In Nebraska, the COUNTY COURT has exclusive original jurisdiction over probate matters.
Small Estate Affidavit (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125 for personal property; § 30-24,129 for real property) – as of a July 2024 statutory amendment, available when personal property does not exceed $100,000 and real property does not exceed $100,000 (both thresholds raised from $50,000). At least 30 days must have passed since death, and no application or petition for a personal representative may be pending. For personal property, the affiant presents a notarized affidavit directly to the institution holding the property along with a certified death certificate. For real property, the affidavit is filed with the register of deeds in the county where the property is located.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates, handled by the county court registrar with minimal judicial involvement.
Formal Probate – required when there’s no will, when a will’s validity is contested, or when there’s disagreement over the personal representative or how assets should be distributed. Handled by a county judge.
Step 2: filing for formal or informal probate
File an application (informal) or petition (formal) with the County Court in the county where the decedent resided.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gives direct notice to known creditors, who have a limited window from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories the estate’s assets and completes the required Probate Inventory Worksheet.
The personal representative completes and files any required Nebraska inheritance tax paperwork before the estate can be closed.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
Nebraska does not set statutory percentage-based fees; personal representative and attorney fees are generally based on reasonable compensation for time and services.
UNIQUE TO NEBRASKA: Nebraska is one of only six states with an inheritance tax, collected at the COUNTY level. Transfers to a surviving spouse are exempt; close relatives get reduced rates; more distant relatives and unrelated beneficiaries are taxed at higher rates.
No separate state estate tax.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
804 Ivy St., Stanton, NE 68779
(402) 439-2233
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
804 Ivy St., Stanton, NE 68779
(402) 439-2222
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NE DHHS — Stanton
(402) 439-2266
Faith Regional Health — Norfolk
frhs.org (accessible; quality regional hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Stanton County Health Department – confirm current phone via stantoncounty.nebraska.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Stanton
Population: 6,000
Area: 430 sq mi
Established: 1867
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Stanton County residents.
