Hall County Historical Society

11/12/2025

Join us in Doniphan at 2 pm this Friday (Nov 14) to dedicate the Doniphan 1887 Fire Nebraska State Historical Society marker. This marker celebrates the resiliency of the community that literally rose from the ashes following a devastating fire that wiped out half of the business district. We will also recognize Eagle Scout Caden Hannon who helped install the marker.

11/11/2025

To all of our veterans, we thank you for your service and sacrifice.

11/10/2025

We are looking forward to sharing the holiday spirit at the Stolley House on December 6.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! Join us as we visit six homes, each will be decked out for the holidays! Saturday 12/6 from 10am-3pm.
🎄 Kent and Kacey Koch, 2021 W. Charles
🎄 Lori Erickson, 4127 Sandalwood Dr.
🎄 Stolley House, 2103 Stolley Park Rd. (House in photo)
🎄 Riverside Lodge, 404 Woodland Dr.
🎄 Dale and Karleen Beckman, 2816 S. Blaine
🎄 Chris and Lauren Dunn, 2821 N. Monitor Rd.

Tickets are $25 now, $30 the day of the event. Tickets are available at: *Home Federal Bank, 3311 W. Stolley Park Rd.
*Five Points Bank, 2009 Diers Ave.
*Ace Hardware, 1704 W. 3rd St.
*Hargis House members
*Anita, 308.850.1480

THANK YOU for your support!
Please no large bags or purses. No children under the age of 12. Tickets are nonrefundable.

11/07/2025

Join us this Sunday (Nov 9) at 1:30 pm at Burlington Station for our annual member’s meeting and election of HCHS board.

Following the meeting, we will have a very special Voices of the Past program starting at 2 pm. Voices of the Past programs are free for HCHS members and $5 for non-members.

Robert F. Kennedy: The Road Not Taken.

The Nebraska Democratic primary mattered in 1968. Because only fifteen states held primaries, Robert F. Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy made the state a high priority. Dennis and Dr. Laura Crawford will share how Nebraska brought out the best in Kennedy, and he brought out the best in Nebraska voters during his 8-day campaign in the state, including a stop at Grand Island.​

Copies of the book will be available for sale following the program.

11/03/2025

Humanities Nebraska has made their 2025 Governor's Lecture in the Humanities featuring Bird Runningwater and Zahn McClarnon available on their YouTube channel for a limited time. We hope you get a chance to enjoy this fascinating discussion.

HCHS is looking forward to making our own announcement very soon about an initiative we are taking a leading role in to support the advancement of humanities in Hall County.

The 2025 Governor's Lecture in the Humanities featured Bird Runningwater and Zahn McClarnon. Toward the end, they answer questions from the audience moderate...

10/31/2025

Bygone Book Club meets this Saturday, Nov. 11 at 11:30 PM!

This month, discuss the story of the gambler and townsite promoter who founded Cozad. The book centers on his youngest son, world-famous artist Robert Henri, who grew up facing the difficulties of life on the Great Plains.

10/30/2025

Join us this Saturday (Nov 1) at 11:30 am at Grand Island Public Library for the next Bygone Book Club. Mac Martin will be leading the discussion on Mari Sandoz’s “Son of a Gamblin’ Man.” We hope to see you there!

10/18/2025

We had another great cemetery tour with our newest group of junior HCHS members this morning. We are so proud to share our community history with our future community leaders. The Walnut DC Diplomats are an amazing group of curious, insightful, and considerate young adults.

10/10/2025

Walnut Middle School is kicking off their 100th Anniversary celebration this Sunday with an Open House from 2-4 pm. We could not be prouder of our HCHS Junior Members, the Walnut DC Diplomats, who have helped created a unique "Museum Experience" that will showcase their research on the history of Walnut since the school first opened it's doors as a 16-room junior high in 1925.

10/09/2025

Join us this Sunday at 2 pm as one of our favorite presenters, Dr. Nathan Tye of UNK History Department, returns to Burlington Station to share the Cather connection to Hall County.

October 12, 2025 | The Cathers of Hall County
Willa Cather is intimately bound up with Webster County. Yet, the wider Cather family thrived in other communities, including Grand Island. George and Frances Cather were the first Cathers to arrive in Webster County, but off and on between 1898 and 1964 their children lived in Grand Island. They attended Grand Island College and built lives in the city. Among them was Grosvenor P. Cather, a Grand Island College dropout, whose life and death on the battlefields of France inspired his famous cousin’s 1923 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, One of Ours. Dr. Nathan Tye, from University of Nebraska-Kearney, will explore the lives of the Hall County Cathers and their place within Willa Cather’s life and work.

Voices of the Past programs are free to HCHS members and $5 for non-members.

10/09/2025

Check out this amazing TikTok created by about our historical markers at the former Cornhusker Ordnance Plant.

180 likes, 27 comments. “The story of the Cornhusker Ordnance Plant near Grand Island, Nebraska. Back in 1942, life in central Nebraska was quiet. Just farms, families, and open land as far as you could see. Then everything changed almost overnight. That February, Senator George Norris announced t...

10/08/2025

We are excited to have two amazing facilitators for Bygone Book Club this month. Join us this Saturday at Grand Island Public Library as Jean Lukesh and Ronnie O’Brien lead the discussion on Sea of Grass.

Bygone Book Club meets this Saturday, October 11th at 11:30 AM! This historical fiction novel is inspired by the long sweep of Indigenous history in the grasslands, as well as the real people and events that were shaped by the land, animals, and plants of the Central Plains.