Welcome to Tilden, Nebraska!

General Information & Supporting Services

Recreation & Area Attractions

Business, Industry & Agriculture

Economic Development

Health & Human Services

Education

July 22 - 24, 2011

History:

The earliest settlers located in the area in the fall of 1868, with 10 more families following in the spring. As the settlement continued to grow, the railroad continued to build west along the Elkhorn River. When a depot was constructed in Antelope County in 1880, just across the line from Madison County, the village of Burnett was founded spanning the Madison/Antelope County Line. Incorporation was completed in October of 1885 with an official census of 218 people.

Because Burnett's mail was continually being mixed up with that of a town by the name of Bennett, the U.S. Post Office officially changed the name of the village to Tilden in 1887, after a presidential candidate by the name of Samual J. Tilden. Mr. Tilden was opposing Rutherford B. Hayes, who won the presidential bid. Older townfolk continued to use the name Burnett until the town council enforced the name change by ordinance.

By 1918, the population of Tilden had grown to more than 1,000 people, and the town officially became a second-class city. The population has remained steady in the ensuing years.

Due to our proximity to Norfolk, Neb. (22 miles west), Tilden offers an affordable alternative for residential living in a rural atmosphere, yet within commuting distance to the job markets of a larger city. Tilden is a growing community with a thriving downtown business district and a new residential development in the southwest part of town.

Tilden offers other community services including a summer recreation program for youth ages 4-18, Westwood Homes (subsidized housing for low income and elderly) and Tilden Community Hospital, a city-owned medical facility with long-term and acute care.

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