In 1893 the Crystal Ice Company dammed a portion of the Little Blue River 1Ό miles north of Ayr, creating Crystal Lake for harvesting and selling ice. A huge storage and loading facility was built on the nearby Republican Valley branch of the . . . — — Map (db m287696) HM
Originally known as Dyers Mill this settlement was begun when John Dyer and his nephews, Elbridge and Truman Dyer, built a grist mill here on the Little Blue River in 1872. Stone at the base is one of the original mill stones. In 1887, the K.C. . . . — — Map (db m287698) HM
This tree is believed to be one of the original 227 trees on campus, beginning the tradition of planting and caring for trees at Hastings College. It was planted on April 25, 1883, by Hastings College Founders in celebration of the groundbreaking . . . — — Map (db m294619) HM
"One of the most beautiful and conveniently arranged buildings of
its kind in the state" is how the A.H. Jones garage was described upon its completion in April, 1916. The front portion was made of white glazed terra cotta and the back of . . . — — Map (db m251899) HM
The Bostwick Hotel, erected in 1884 on the site of the Denver House
Hotel, was named for Harrison Bostwick, major stockholder and
president of City National Bank. The hotel occupied a large place in
the social and political history of Hastings . . . — — Map (db m251849) HM
Brickmaking in Hastings began in 1878, six years after the town was established. A year later much of the downtown was destroyed by fire in September 1879. Following the fire, the city passed an ordinance requiring future commercial buildings to use . . . — — Map (db m251211) HM
The Central Hastings Historic District began at this site in 1878 when Samuel Alexander, using his 160-acre homestead, created the first northern addition to Hastings. This National Register district physically documents the three major periods of . . . — — Map (db m251207) HM
From the early 1900s through the mid-1920s, summer circuit Chautauquas brought culture and entertainment to communities across the U.S. The Hastings Chautauqua Association constructed this pavilion in 1907. Local architect C. W. Way designed it to . . . — — Map (db m251214) HM
In 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Servicemens Readjustment Act, known as the G.I. Bill of Rights. This ushered in sweeping changes to Americas colleges and universities by paying for the tuition of World War II veterans and . . . — — Map (db m287836) HM
The Heartwell Park Historic District is significant as an example of a planned residential development. The Heartwell Park Addition was platted in 1886 by J. B. Heartwell and designed by landscape architect A. N. Carpenter. The idea of a designed . . . — — Map (db m251201) HM
Highland Park Cemetery is Hastings' oldest burial ground, established in 1873 on land secured from the Union Pacific Railroad. At the time, 7th Street was the northern boundary of the community. No lots were sold after 1886 when Parkview Cemetery . . . — — Map (db m287713) HM
Considered to be the finest performance hall between Omaha and
Denver, the Kerr Opera House was admired for its magnificently ornate
grandeur. The dream to build this unique structure became a reality in
1884 when William Kerr, a wealthy . . . — — Map (db m251840) HM
In 1909 a determined and energetic thirty-year-old man purchased
a 10 x 12 loft at 817 West Second Street. His purpose was to provide
Nebraska with quality cigars. However, John W. Kipp did not realize
what massive popularity his cigar-making . . . — — Map (db m251829) HM
Liberal Hall was built in 1878 by Tom Scales for the Hastings Free
Religious Society, a group of liberal thinkers in religious matters.
The outside of the frame building measured 50 by 75 feet. The interior
had a stage at one end and a gallery . . . — — Map (db m251846) HM
McCormick Hall opened in 1884. It is named for Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the mechanical reaper, who donated $5,000 to help finance construction of the building. The first building on the Hastings College campus, it was the intellectual, social, . . . — — Map (db m287749) HM
There are more than 200 medicinal prairie plants known to be used by American Indians long before white settlers arrived. They had extensive knowledge of their available resources as well as expertise in preparations and dosages. Healers could . . . — — Map (db m287848) HM
The U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot, known locally as "the NAD," was the largest of the navy's World War II inland munitions depots, occupying almost 49,000 acres of Adams and Clay County farmland. Construction began in July 1942; loading, assembly, . . . — — Map (db m78005) HM
Oregon TrailMarked by the State of Nebraska and Niobrara Chapter Daughters of American Revolution Hastings Nebraska 1912 Pony Express Russell Majors Waddell Founders Owners Operators St. Joseph Sacramento . . . — — Map (db m287697) HM
With the faith and courage of their forefathers who made possible the freedom of these United States The Boy Scouts of America dedicate this replica of the Statue of Liberty as a pledge of everlasting fidelity and loyalty 40th Anniversary Crusade . . . — — Map (db m287699) HM
Submarine Deck Gun
You are looking at a 5-inch, 51 caliber, Mark 18 submarine deck gun. This type of deck gun was mounted on three famous submarines: Bass, Barracuda, and Bonita. Known as a "wet" gun because of it's ability to function . . . — — Map (db m287711) HM
During the 1870s, the Alexander Brothers, Morris and Eugene, operated a livery stable at the corner of Second and Lincoln. In 1881 three
new brick buildings, the Alexander, Benedict, and Reed Blocks, were
built at the site. Each had two stories, a . . . — — Map (db m251841) HM
Adams County, and Hastings in particular, are "children of the
railroads," having been founded and sustained by rail companies
between the 1870s and 1960s. Hastings owes its very existence to an
intersection of two railways, the Burlington and . . . — — Map (db m251836) HM
When the Clarke Hotel was dedicated in February, 1914, it was
hailed as a triumph of local initiative. The $175.000 project originated with the Chamber of Commerce, which established a corporation to construct it through sale of stock to . . . — — Map (db m251843) HM
This building is known locally as the birthplace of Kool-Aid.
More accurately, it was the home of the Perkins Products Company,
the manufacturing and retail enterprise of Kool-Aid inventor,
Edwin E. Perkins, and his family. The company was housed . . . — — Map (db m251833) HM
The Kool-Aid Man has famous feet that have helped him bust through countless walls since his 1975 debut. In 2000, Kool-Aid Man had his footprints immortalized in concrete at the world famous Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The concrete . . . — — Map (db m287715) HM
Commissioned by Fred A. Bosselman
Sculpted by David L. Biehl, 2011
By the mid-1860s Plains Indians were being pushed off of their homeland by settlers from the East. Sioux and Cheyenne tribes made a last attempt to secure their territories . . . — — Map (db m287721) HM
The Martin Brothers
There's More to the Story
After decades of failed treaties, disease epidemics, and the repeated loss of territory, the conditions of Native American tribes on the plains consistently became worse. When the . . . — — Map (db m287724) HM
Thanks largely to the work of United States Senator
Charles Dietrich of Hastings, the Hastings Post Office, also known
as the Federal Building, was constructed at the corner of Hastings
Avenue and Third Street in 1905. This structure cost . . . — — Map (db m251896) HM
For more than 30 years after the turn of the century, the Stein Brothers Store provided quality merchandise from all over the world to south central Nebraska shoppers. Stein's buyers made regular trips to Europe purchasing goods, like Belgian lace . . . — — Map (db m187774) HM
One of the early companies to usher in the automobile era in
Hastings, the A.E. Stitt Company automobile dealership was
relocated in 1926 on the first floor of the newly built Stitt Building at
the corner of Third Street and St. Joseph Avenue. . . . — — Map (db m251904) HM
Studded in bright lights, the Strand Theatre marquee heralded
first-run showings of such movie classics as From Here to Eternity and
The Sound of Music. Hundreds of Class B Western double features
starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans . . . — — Map (db m251823) HM
The Victory Building, named to commemorate America's
victory in World War I, is one of Nebraska's finest examples of
early 20th century industrial architecture. It was constructed
between 1917 and 1920 by harness maker William Dutton as . . . — — Map (db m251852) HM
The Pony Express mail service on horseback operated from April 1860 until October 1861. The route went through 6 relay stations in Adams County for 30 miles along the Oregon Trail. Oregon Trail & Pony Express Route Sand Hill Summit Muddy . . . — — Map (db m287814) HM
The most traveled of the overland routes passed this point on its way to the great Platte Valley, highway to the west. The Oregon Trail started from Independence, followed the Kansas River west, and then the Little Blue north into Nebraska. It . . . — — Map (db m251198) HM
Susan C. Haile was born December 20, 1817, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She was the youngest child of Joseph and Prudence (Bledsoe) Seawell, natives of Sumner County, Tennessee. Upon the death of Joseph in 1819, Prudence Seawell returned to Sumner . . . — — Map (db m123807) HM
To overland emigrants the rigors of the trail
began with the "Coast of Nebraska," the ridge of sandhills separating the Platte Valley from the open
prairie behind it. Thousands of emigrants passed
this way during the peak emigration years of . . . — — Map (db m257803) HM
The Kingston Cemetery is located on the hill just west of this marker. Founded in the early 1870s, the cemetery was the final resting place for nearly thirty of Kingstons early settlers. In 1887 the Kingston settlement was moved to the rail . . . — — Map (db m287680) HM
