M EMORIALS Caring for those who have lived a life of service for our country and communities has been part of Grand Island's identity since the Nebraska Soldiers and Sailors Home was built in 1887. The 7-acre Grand Island veterans cemetery is being expanded into a Nebraska Veterans Cemetery, and a new sculpture was added to Veterans Park in 2024. The high school's Memorial Stadium was expanded and restored in 2021 honoring veterans.
W ALKING TOURS Get off the Interstate to see America! Walking tours allow you to engage with your environment, not just zip by it. Grand Island Tourism's guided and digital tours allow you to step back in time and learn about the people who built our city around the transcontinental railroad in the mid-to-late 1800s. Call Grand Island Tourism ȯ ce at 308-382-4400 for information on guided tours.
M ORMON T RAILSITE Wagon trails crossed through Grand Island and Hall County. The Mormon Pioneer Company crossed the nearEy :ood River April 2 , 1847, continuing to higher ground now marked with a granite stone and information display. Named the Townsley-Murdock Trail Site, this 2.4-acre prairie on the northwest corner of Guenther and Alda roads has never been plowed. Gentle swales — or wagon ruts — are visible on the site if you look closely.
1 2 3 Notable historic markers Stolley Park 2103 W. Stolley Park Rd. A historic home & monuments Martin brothers Platte River Rd. ʙ Alda Rd. A captivating prairie story
O.K. Store ʙ Corral 700 E. Stolley Park Rd. Marking the original town
A short history of Grand Island
P r ior to 1 7 0 0 , approximately 60,000 Pawnee lived throughout what would become the central United States, although disease from Europe soon decimated their numbers. In 1803, the United States bought the land that would become Nebraska from the French — who had claimed it in 1682 — as part of the Louisiana Purchase. From 1840-1870, wagon trains followed the Great Platte River Road through the prairie that would Eecome Grand Island. In 2, /a Grand Isle, the island in the 3latte River for which the city is named, was estimated to be 52 miles long with an average width of 1.75 miles. The Nebraska Territory was established in 1854, extending northwest from Kansas up to the Canadian border. G r and I sland C ity w as f ounded in 1 8 5 7 by 36 German settlers from Iowa. They built cabins out of the few available trees on the prairie. The city was a business venture, speculating the railroad would come through within a few years. However, the bank supporting the
venture was EanNrupted Ey a financial crisis later that same year. Most of the original settlers decided to stay anyway. That same year, the Pawnee ceded their remaining land to the government. In 2, The 2... Store opened as the first Eusiness in Grand Island City and included a post ȯ ce, stagecoach barn, stockyard, hotel, and a garden. In 1866, the Union 3acific Railroad platted a new Grand Island a few miles west of the original settlement. I n 1 8 6 9 , th e tr anscontinental r ailr oad w as com p leted , largely bringing a halt to wagon trains. A few years later, the %urlington Railroad also arrived in Grand Island making the city a hub for travel. The city of Grand Island was booming in the 1880s with more than 100 brick buildings and 7,500 residents by 1890. Learn more about the history of the area at Stuhr Museum ( Stuh r M useum . or g ), where a living history town and extensive collections share Grand Island's story.
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