First setters of Hall County circa 1885
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Hall County was created by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature in 1855 and was named in honor of Augustus Hall, the first Chief Justice of the Nebraska Territory. Located in the fertile Platte River Valley of central Nebraska, the county's early history was shaped by westward migration along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, all of which passed through the region.

Permanent settlement began after the Civil War when veterans, homesteaders, and European immigrants were attracted by rich agricultural land and expanding transportation routes. In 1857, a group of settlers founded the Town of Grand Island, naming it after a large wooded island in the Platte River described by early French traders as La Grande Île. Although settlement was interrupted by conflicts and frontier hardships, Grand Island soon became the leading community in the area.

When Hall County was organized in 1861, Wood River Center was selected as the first county seat due to its central location and status as an early settlement. As population growth shifted toward Grand Island, a county seat election was held in 1873. Grand Island won the contest and became the county seat, a position it has held ever since. The arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad further accelerated the city's growth, establishing it as a major transportation, agricultural, and commercial center for central Nebraska.

Throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Hall County attracted settlers from Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia, Bohemia, and other European regions. Their influence can still be found in local churches, cemeteries, newspapers, and community traditions, making Hall County a rich resource for genealogical research.

Today, Hall County preserves records documenting more than a century and a half of pioneer settlement, agricultural development, immigration, and family history in the heart of Nebraska's Platte Valley. For family historians, these records provide a valuable link to the generations who helped shape central Nebraska.

In Memoriam: Keylynn Loveland (1952-2010)

These pages honor our first Hall County Coordinator, Kaylynn Loveland, who passed away on April 28, 2010, in Grand Island, Nebraska. Since 1997, she devoted her time and energy to helping Hall County family historians and researchers. Health issues forced her to step down in 2005, but she returned to her duties in late 2007 and continued until her passing. She will be deeply missed by the patrons of Hall County and friends across Nebraska.

Click   here    to read her obituary