Gresham is a village of 219 residents (2020 Census), down gradually from 270 in 2000. It has an unusual two-name history: the settlement was originally platted in 1887 as "Poston" when the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad reached the site, but was renamed Gresham after it was discovered another Nebraska community already used the name Poston. The new name honors Walter Q. Gresham, who served as U.S. Secretary of State in the early 1890s after earlier serving as Postmaster General and Secretary of the Treasury.

Despite its small size, Gresham produced a genuinely notable political figure: William H. Diers (1890–1982), a local businessman who served as Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature in 1939.

Gresham (pop. 219) was originally platted as "Poston" in 1887 before being renamed for U.S. Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham. Local businessman William H. Diers, a Gresham native, served as Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature in 1939.