Holdrege Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Phelps County · County seat · Population 5,515 (2020 census) · ZIP 68949 · Founded 1883 · Peak population 5,671 (1990)

About Holdrege

Holdrege is a city of 5,515 people (2020) and the seat of Phelps County, at 2,326 feet on the high tableland between the Platte and Republican valleys. US 6 and US 34 run east–west through town as 4th Avenue, US 183 runs north–south, and NE 23 ends at US 6/34 on the west side. Amtrak’s California Zephyr stops daily in each direction. Holdrege has Phelps Memorial Health Center, Holdrege Public Schools, the Holdrege Area Public Library, The Tassel performing arts center, the Don Sjogren Community YMCA, Brewster Field airport and the county fairgrounds. Kearney and I-80 are about 24 miles northeast. Holdrege is on Central Time.

History

The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad laid its line about seven miles southeast of Phelps Center, then the county seat, and created Holdrege to suit its own operations. The post office opened on November 9, 1883, the first train arrived on December 10, 1883, to a town of about 200 people, and Holdrege was incorporated on February 14, 1884. It is named for George Ward Holdrege, the Burlington’s general manager in Nebraska. Holdrege won the county seat in a disputed 1884 election, and residents kept the county records for two months until the new officers took office on January 1, 1885. Most early settlers were Swedish, which the Midsummer Festival, formerly Swedish Days, still celebrates each June. Irrigation water from the Platte reached the county in 1941, and Holdrege grew from 3,360 people in 1940 to a peak of 5,671 in 1990. The Beaux Arts courthouse (1910–11), the Burlington depot of 1910–11 at 700 Ironhorse St. and the 1903 Kinner House at 515 Tibbals St. are on the National Register. Gen. Harry Schmidt, who commanded the V Amphibious Corps at Iwo Jima, and landscape architect Ralph D. Cornell were born here.

Highways and trails through Holdrege

Route	One way	Other way
US 6/34Through town as 4th Avenue	East to Funk, Axtell and Minden	West to Atlanta and Arapahoe
US 183North–south through town	North to Elm Creek and I-80	South to Alma
NE 23Ends at US 6/34 on the west side	West to Loomis, Bertrand and Elwood

Nearby towns

Funk	about 7 mi east-northeast	US 6/34
Atlanta	about 7 mi southwest	US 6/34
Loomis	about 7 mi west-northwest	NE 23
Wilcox	about 12 mi east-southeast	County roads
Axtell	about 13 mi east-northeast	US 6/34
Bertrand	about 15 mi west-northwest	NE 23
Elm Creek	about 19 mi north	US 183
Orleans	about 22 mi south	US 183 and NE 89
Minden	about 22 mi east	US 6/34
Alma	about 23 mi south	US 183
Kearney	about 24 mi northeast	US 183 and I-80
Elwood	about 28 mi west-northwest	NE 23
Arapahoe	about 29 mi west-southwest	US 6/34
Lexington	about 30 mi northwest	NE 23 and US 283

Things to see

the Nebraska Prairie Museum, a mile north on US 183, with its Camp Atlanta exhibit (free) · the Phelps County Courthouse (1910–11, National Register) · The Tassel, 1324 Tilden St. · the Burlington depot (National Register), 700 Ironhorse St. · the Midtown Sculpture Garden and bronze sculpture tour downtown · Lake Seldom, a 325-acre wetland refuge on the south edge of town · the Holdrege Country Club · the South Park Disc Golf Course

Events in Holdrege

Holdrege Midsummer Festival
Holdrege Midsummer Festival is held in Holdrege, Nebraska, on the third weekend of June (Thursday to Saturday).
Phelps County Fair
Phelps County Fair, a county fair in Holdrege, Nebraska.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Holdrege Public Schools: Holdrege High School (9–12), 600 12th Ave., (308) 995-6558; Holdrege Middle School (5–8), 600 14th Ave., (308) 995-5421; Holdrege Elementary School (PK–4), 1700 Broadway St., (308) 995-4339; All Saints Catholic School, 1206 Logan St.

Health care: Phelps Memorial Health Center, 1215 Tibbals St., a critical access hospital open 24 hours; Phelps Medical Group clinic, 1315 Tibbals St.

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Phelps County (phelpscounty.ne.gov); City of Holdrege; History Nebraska markers (Phelps County, Camp Atlanta, Funk, Holdrege silt loam); HMdb; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); NEGenWeb Phelps County (post offices); National Register (NPGallery); Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Rainwater Basin Joint Venture; KRVN; Central Nebraska Today; Federal Judicial Center; SchoolDigger. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.