Hastings is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Adams County,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, United States. The population was 25,152 at the 2020 census, making it the 8th most populous city in Nebraska. Edwin Perkins invented Kool-Aid in Hastings in 1927; the town celebrates the invention with the Kool-Aid Days festival every August. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Hastings operated the largest Naval Ammunition Depot in the United States, and for this reason was awarded the distinction of American World War II Heritage City by the National Park Service in 2023.

History

Settlement

Hastings was founded in 1872 at the intersection of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad and the St. Joseph and Denver City Railroad. It was named for Colonel D. T. Hastings of the St. Joseph and Grand Island Railroad, who was instrumental in building the railroad through Adams County. The area was previously open plain: the

Donner party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California interim government, 1846-1850, California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent ...

passed through on its way to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1846 and a pioneer cemetery marker in Hastings bears an inscription taken from Tamsen Donner's journal: "The country between the Blue and the Platte is beautiful beyond compare. Never have I seen so varied a country so suitable to cultivation." In the 1870s, railroads lured European immigrants to the new state of Nebraska with advertisements. Hastings' first settlers were English, from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and were quickly joined by other English, Irish, Germans, Danes, and Germans from Russia. Between 1872 and 1880, when the population had grown to 2,800, Hastings was a boomtown. Settlers first built sod houses, dugouts, and shanties, then houses and stores. The city was incorporated in April 1874, and in September 1878, after a five-year county seat war, the county seat was transferred to Hastings from Juniata. However, a fire in 1879 destroyed 33 buildings downtown. The city was rebuilt between 1880 and 1890 in fireproof materials and in a more planned fashion, with characteristically ornate Victorian buildings, many designed by Charles C. Rittenhouse, the first practicing architect in Adams County and also mayor for ten years.Rittenhouse and Way: Architects of Hastings' First Half Century
at Adams County Historical Society, retrieved April 6, 2010. Thanks to the railroads, the city enjoyed great prosperity during the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

. The population grew to 13,500. This period of expansion ended with the drought and agricultural depression of the 1890s; the town's population fell to 7,000 and would not reach 15,000 until 1930. African Americans have lived in Hastings since the 1860s. In 1876, Horace G. Newsom started the first Black-owned newspaper in Nebraska.

20th Century

Hastings saw renewed growth from 1900 to 1930, which is reflected by buildings in the Craftsman,

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

, and

American Foursquare The American Foursquare (also American Four Square or American 4 Square) is an American house vernacular under the Arts and Crafts style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the ...

styles. The leading

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

architect was Claude W. Way. Hastings had four brickyards and in 1911 was producing more bricks than any other city in Nebraska, and all the paving bricks. During this period, the city also became known as the cigar-making capital of Nebraska. The largest cigar factory, the Kipp Cigar Company, was by 1921 hand-rolling one-fifth of all cigars produced in Nebraska; in 1925 it produced half, a total of 10 million. Cigars lost their popularity to cigarettes between the two World Wars, and in the 1930s the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

again brought the town's expansion to a halt. In 1942, the Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD) was constructed, initiating explosive growth: Hastings' population grew from 15,000 to 23,000 in under a year and there was a critical shortage of housing, which prompted both alteration of existing housing stock and rapid construction of new neighborhoods. Once

ended, staff was reduced at the ammunition depot, bringing Hastings' last growth period to an end in 1950, and the depot eventually closed. The NAD also significantly increased the city's African American population, which went from 70 Black residents in 1940 to more than 1,000 by 1943.

Kool-Aid

Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in Hastings. All of his experiments took place in his mother's kitchen. Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. To reduce shipping costs, in 1927, Perkins discovered a way to remove the liquid from Fruit Smack, leaving only a powder; this powder was named Kool-Aid. Perkins moved his production to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1931 and Kool-Aid was sold to

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by C. W. Post, Charles William (C. W.) Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, a ...

in 1953. Hastings still celebrates a yearly summer festival called Kool-Aid Days on the second weekend in August in honor of their city's claim to fame. Kool-Aid is known as

's official

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

21st century

Today, Heartwell Park and Central Hastings, two of the oldest neighborhoods, are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The Hastings Symphony Orchestra performs in the Chautauqua Pavilion, built in 1907 and on the National Register of Historic Places, while the Hastings Community Theatre performs in the auditorium of the former Spencer Park School, built during the housing shortage of the 1940s. The city has adapted several of its historic buildings to new uses.

Central Community College Central Community College is a Community colleges in the United States, two-year Nebraska public college with three campuses, in Columbus, Nebraska, Columbus, Grand Island, Nebraska, Grand Island, and Hastings, Nebraska, Hastings. In addition the ...

is housed in buildings of the former Naval Ammunition Depot. St. Michael's Elementary School (formerly the Lincoln Elementary School building), built in 1912, is now the police headquarters. The Clarke Hotel, built in 1914 and also on the National Register of Historic Places, is now the Kensington, a home for senior citizens. Spencer Park, an 840-unit "village" built to house workers in the 1940s, is now Good Samaritan Retirement Village. In 2000, there were 200 African Americans living in Adams County, with almost all living in Hastings. According to the U.S. Census, in 2022 African Americans comprise .6% of the city's population. On June 24, 2007, Hastings won Yahoo's Greenest City in America competition.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

Forecast Office is located in Hastings, serving central and south-central Nebraska and six counties in north-central

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. The data below are from the WRCC. Hastings has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

( Dfa) with short, cold, and snowy winters and hot, rainy summers with mild nights.

Demographics

Hastings is the principal city of the Hastings, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Adams and

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

counties.

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 25,152 people, 10,137 households, and 6,139 families in Hastings. The population density was 1,691.5 per square mile (653.1/km). There were 11,103 housing units at an average density of 746.7 per square mile (288.3/km). The racial makeup was 83.16% (20,917)

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.99% (250) black or African-American, 0.66% (167) Native American, 1.62% (408) Asian, 0.04% (9)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 5.88% (1,480) from other races, and 7.64% (1,921) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race was 13.0% (3,343) of the population. Of the 10,137 households, 28.1% had children under the age of 18; 44.1% were married couples living together; 30.1% had a female householder with no husband present. 33.6% of households consisted of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.3 and the average family size was 3.0. 23.3% of the population was under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 96.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 95.5 males. The 2016-2020 5-year

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates show that the median household income was $52,747 (with a margin of error of +/- $3,112) and the median family income $72,458 (+/- $6,758). Males had a median income of $36,612 (+/- $2,682) versus $22,994 (+/- $2,354) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $29,221 (+/- $1,883). Approximately, 9.4% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.4% of those under the age of 18 and 8.5% of those ages 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 24,907 people, 10,110 households, and 6,160 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 10,847 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.0%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.5% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.1%

, 5.0% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 9.8% of the population. There were 10,110 households, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.1% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age in the city was 36.8 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.8% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 24,064 people, 9,610 households, and 5,948 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 10,333 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.39%

, 0.79%

, 0.42% Native American, 2.02% Asian, 0.04%

, 2.39% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 5.58% of the population. There were 9,610 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were

living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $35,461, and the median income for a family was $44,688. Males had a median income of $29,633 versus $21,262 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $17,941. About 5.6% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the

, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, the national passenger rail system, provides service at station in Hastings, operating its

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville station, Emeryville), via Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Denver, Sa ...

daily in each direction between

and

Emeryville, California Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley, California, Berkeley and Oakland, California, Oakland, with a border on the shore of San Francisc ...

, across the bay from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Hastings is served by major highways, including east-west U.S. Highways 6 and 34, and north-south U.S. Highway 281. Burlington Avenue is the main street running from south to north in Hastings; northward it leads to U.S. 281. Hastings is approximately south of Interstate 80. Hastings Municipal Airport, owned and operated by the City of Hastings, serves the city.

Education

The school district is the Hastings Public Schools. Hastings has several elementary schools. The largest public elementary is Alcott. Others include Hawthorne, Watson, and Lincoln. Zion Classical Academy serves students in grades Preschool–8. There was a new middle school that opened in the fall of 2008. The high schools are Hastings High School (public) Athletics Class B and St. Cecilia's (Catholic) Athletics class C–2. Just outside town is Adams Central Junior-Senior High School (public rural) Athletics Class C. Hastings College is a private liberal arts college, affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

, and founded in 1882.

, a two-year technical college, began serving students in 1966, and it occupies the site of the old Naval Ammunition Depot.

Fisher Fountain

The Jacob Fisher Rainbow Fountain in Highland Park shoots continuously changing arrays of water jets (reaching heights of 67 feet) while green, yellow, orange, red, magenta, and blue lights illuminate the water in varying patterns. Fisher Fountain was originally a temporary exhibit at the 1932 Adams County Fair, called the Electric Fountain. It was invented by Edward R. Howard and became a symbol of hope during the

and

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and hum ...

. Because of its popularity, it was moved to the park and made permanent. A competition among schoolchildren to rename it resulted in two winning names that were combined: Rainbow Fountain, and Fisher Fountain after Mayor Jacob Fisher. According to Spilinek, it was set up on the grounds of Hastings Utilities. Fisher Fountain was renovated in 1982 but was then dynamited by vandals in 1984. Its destruction aroused a strong community response. $63,000 was raised to rebuild it, and it was rededicated on Mother's Day in 1985.

Hastings Museum

The Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History is in an art deco building funded by $75,000 from the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

and completed in 1939. Albert Brooking, who founded the museum in 1926 and provided it with many exhibits, including Indian relics, fossils, and the largest private collection of mounted birds in the US, was buried in the basement in 1946. The museum currently houses the Lied Super Screen Theatre, McDonald Planetarium, and local and regional exhibits including the largest diorama of whooping and

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large Crane (bird), cranes of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to its habitat, such as the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's S ...

s in the world. The Adams County Historical Society is located within the museum.

Naval Ammunition Depot

The Naval Ammunition Depot, constructed on southeast of Hastings and in operation from 1942 to 1946, was the largest United States

naval munitions plant, encompassing over 2,200 structures valued at $71 million. Hastings was chosen as the location for the plant because of its central location. In 1945 it employed 6,692 civilians in addition to 125 officers and 1,800 enlistees. The plant was reactivated in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

but decommissioned between 1958 and 1966, and the site now houses a US Department of Agriculture research station, training facilities for the National Guard and Reserves, an industrial park, Central Community College, and a golf course.

Parks and recreation

Hastings has twenty parks and recreational facilities throughout the city. The city offers recreational and leisure programs and operates the Aquacourt Water Park, the City Auditorium, Lake Hastings, Chautauqua Pavilion, Duncan Field, the Pioneer Spirit Trail, Smith Softball Complex, Brickyard Park Amphitheater, and Heartwell Lake.Parks & Recreation
, City of Hastings Nebraska, retrieved April 5, 2010.

Media

The principal newspaper in Hastings is the '' Hastings Tribune'', published six days a week."About Us,"
''Hastings Tribune''. KNHL's studio is located north of Hastings on U.S. 281.

Notable people

* Marc Boerigter, football player * Stan Campbell, football player * James F. Capalino, businessperson * Adam Carriker, football player * Clarence L. "Ben" Coates, computer scientist * Dorothy Weyer Creigh, Nebraska historian * Sandy Dennis, theater and Academy Award-winning film actress * Charles Henry Dietrich, Governor of Nebraska and U.S. Senator * Stephen Goodin, football player * Robert Keith Gray, influential Republican public relations specialist * Francis Greenlief,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Major General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau * Neal Hefti, jazz musician and composer *

Sheila Hicks Sheila Hicks (born 1934) is an American artist. She is known for her innovative and experimental weavings and sculptural textile art that incorporate distinctive colors, natural materials, and personal narratives. Since 1964, she has lived and ...

, fiber artist * Johnny Hopp, Major League baseball player * Rollin Kirby, political cartoonist * Gwen Lee, stage and film actress * Les Nunamaker, Major League baseball player * Tom Osborne,

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

football coach and Congressman * Edwin Perkins, inventor of Kool-Aid * Randall Ray Rader, former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. * Carrie Renfrew (1858–1948), author * Fred A. Seaton, U.S. Secretary of the Interior 1956–61. * Rick Sheehy, lieutenant governor of Nebraska 2005–13 * Teddi Smith, ''Playboy'' Playmate (July 1960) * Zach Sterup, football player * Jeri Kehn Thompson, political commentator, wife of Sen.

Fred Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...

* Gerald Lee Warren, journalist

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Adams County, Nebraska Cities in Nebraska Hastings Micropolitan Statistical Area County seats in Nebraska