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HALL COUNTY

HISTORY
Hall county was organized and its boundaries defined by an act of the legislature approved November 4, 1858. Its boundaries were re-defined February 1, 1864, and again March 1, 1871. It was named in honor of Augustus Hall (1814-1861), chief Justice of the territory of Nebraska, 1858, and a former congressman from Iowa.
COURTHOUSE
 
Hall County Courthouse
111 W 1st St, Grand Island, NE  68801
308-385-5135
 
PLACE NAMES
Abbott – post office opened March 16, 1887 through 1937. Named in honor of Othman Ali Abbott of Grand Island. Peak population was 50 in 1930.
Albeville – post office opened October 30, 1866 through August 12, 1868.
Alda – post office opened September 7, 1871.  First named Pawnee, but was renamed Alda in honor of the first white child born in the town, the daughter of a section boss. Peak population in 1970 was 956.
Berwick – post office opened May 3, 1881 (formerly Zurich), through April 29, 1887.
Burkett – post office opened May 28, 1906 through June 30, 1930. Originally named Home. Possibly named for US Senator Elmer J Burkett.
Cairo – post office opened November 17, 1886.  Named by the Lincoln Land Company, presumably after Cairo, Egypt. Some of the streets in the town have Egyptian names.
Cameron – post office opened December 10, 1875 through April 23, 1903. Originally named Northfield.
Doniphan – post office opened October 21, 1879. Originally named Orchard in 1874, changed in honor of Colonel John Doniphan, of St Joseph, Missouri, who was then attorney for the railroad on which it is located. Peak population in 1980 was 696.
Easton – post office opened January 28, 1885 through December 20, 1886. Originally called Runnelsburgh.
Grand Island – post office opened 1873 after changing the name from Grand Island Station. Original Grand Island settlement was laid out in 1866 by the UP Railroad. Named by French trappers for the large island in the Platte river. Grand Island is the county seat of Hall county.
Junctionville – post office opened August 22, 1865 through October, 1866. Reestablished December 3, 1872 through December 19, 1873.
Loyola – post office opened May 14, 1883 through December 21, 1886. Originally named Rundlett. Possibly named for Ignatius de Loyola by Catholic residents in the community.
Orchard – post office opened August 11, 1874, name changed to Doniphan.
Ovina – post office opened December 8, 1920 through April 6, 1923.
Schauppsville – this town was founded about 1880 by John G Schaupp for whom it was named. Never incorporated.
Spencer – post office opened July 12, 1878 through April 9, 1884. Named for the first postmaster, George J Spencer.
Underwood – post office opened January 16, 1885 through May 23, 1902. Named for Mrs Cleanthe A Underwood, postmistress, who established the post on the farm of B G Underwood.
Wood River – post office opened August 3, 1868. Named after the famous Wood River valley in which it is located. It was first laid out in 1869, but did not exist in its present location until 1871. Peak population was 1,334 in 1980.
Zurich – post office opened August 19, 1873, changed to Berwick in 1881. Likely named for Zurich, Switzerland.
 
CEMETERIES
 
Alda Cemetery
Berwick Cemetery, Cairo
Cameron Cemetery
Campbell Cemetery. Doniphan
Cedar View Cemetery, Doniphan
East Grand Island Cemetery
First Presbyterian Columbarium, Grand Island
Grand Island Cemetery
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Cairo
Poor Farm Cemetery, Grand Island
Rosedale Cemetery, aka Highland Cemetery, Doniphan
Saint Marys Catholic Cemetery, Wood River
Saint Stephens Church Columbarium, Grand Island
Shelton Cemetery
Soldiers and Sailors Cemetery, aka Nebraska Veterans Memorial Cemetery
Trinity United Methodist Church Columbarium, Grand Island
Westlawn Memorial Cemetery, Grand Island
Wiegert Cemetery
Wood River Cemetery
Wood River Mennonite Church Cemetery
CHURCHES
Abundant Life Christian Center - 3411 W Faidley Ave, Grand Island,  308-382-4861  http://www.alccgi.com/
Alda United Methodist Church – 202 E Pine St, Alda,  308-381-7008
Apostolic Faith Tabernacle - 702 S Sycamore St, Grand Island,  308-384-3566
Beacon of Hope Baptist Church – 2525 W State St, Grand Island,  308-370-2594
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church – 518 W State, Grand Island,  308-384-0532  https://www.blsachurch.net/ 
Berean Bible Church – 4116 W Capital Ave, Grand Island,  308-382-7881  https://www.giberean.org/ 
Cairo United Methodist Church – 506 E Kansas St, Cairo,  308-485-4336  https://cairounitedmethodistchurch.weebly.com/ 
Calvary Lutheran Church ELCA – 1304 N Custer Ave, Grand Island,  308-
Calvary Tabernacle UPC – 515 S Oak St, Grand Island,  308-383-7701
Christ Lutheran Church WELS - 1300 N Grand Island Ave, Grand Island,  308-382-1988
Christ Lutheran Church – 503 W Medina St, Cairo,  308-485-4863  https://www.christlutheranchurchcairo.com/ 
Church of Christ – 2822 W Stolley Park Rd, Grand Island,  308-384-2613
Church of God of Prophecy – 1620 N Broadwell Ave, Grand Island,  308-389-3574
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – 212 W 22nd St, Grand Island,  308-381-7062
Community of Christ – 1728 N Lafayette, Grand Island,  308-384-2126
Cristo Cordero De Dios Lutheran Church - 512 E 2nd St, Grand Island,  308-389-4611
Destiny Church – 4306 W Hwy 30, Grand Island,  308-675-1380  http://www.ihaveadestiny.com/ 
Doniphan United Methodist Church – 304 N 4th St, Doniphan,  402-845-2761  http://doniphanrosedaleumc.org/ 
Evangelical Wesleyan Church – 611 N Kimball St, Grand Island,  308-384-2982
First Baptist Church – 107 E Nile St, Cairo,  308-485-4768  http://www.fbccairo.net/
First Christian Church - 2400 W 14th St, Grand Island,  308-382-6738
First Church of Christ Scientist - 309 N Broadwell Ave, Grand Island,  308-382-5650
First-Faith United Methodist Church - 4190 W Capital Ave, Grand Island,  308-384-5620  http://firstfaithumcgi.org/ 
First Presbyterian Church - 2103 W Anna St, Grand Island,  308-382-0930   http://www.gipresby.org/
First United Methodist Church – 1105 Main St, Wood River,  308-583-2716  https://www.woodriverumc.org/ 
Grace Baptist Church – 1115 S Vine St, Grand Island,  308-384-1966  https://www.gracebaptistgi.com/
Grace Covenant Church - 418 W 12th St, Grand Island,  308-384-5625  http://gracegi.org/
Grace Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) - 545 Memorial Dr, Grand Island,  308-382-1190  https://gracelcmsgi.org/ 
Grace Lutheran Church – 1100 East St, Wood River,  308-583-2820
Grand Island Evangelical Free Church - 2609 S Blaine St, Grand Island,  308-382-1898  https://www.gifree.org/ 
Grand Island SDA Church – 636 S Shady Bend Rd, Grand Island,  308-384-1480  http://grandisland22.adventistchurchconnect.org/
Grand Island Spanish Foursquare Church – 524 W 4th St, Grand Island 
GI Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist Church - 3205 Garland St, Grand Island,  iglesiaadventistadegrandisland@msn.com
Harvest Time Baptist Church – 1125 Beal St, Grand Island,  308-384-2268 
Iglesia Ebenezer Church – 502 E Capital Ave, Grand Island,  308-384-4463  https://www.ebenezernebraska.org/ 
Iglesia Evangelica Pentecostes Redencion Eterna - 318 W 3rd St, Grand Island ,  308-850-5555 
Iglesia Monte Sinai Inc - 603 Bismark Rd, Grand Island,  308-370-1901
Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Hispana – 306 N Walnut St, Grand Island,  308-210-2324
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses – 3425 S Webb Rd, Grand Island,  308-382-6790  https://www.jw.org/en/
LoveJoy United Presbyterian Church – 202 E 12th St, Wood River,  308-583-2556  https://lovejoyupc.org/ 
Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church - 122 W 7th St,  Grand Island,  308-382-3471  http://www.messiahgi.org/default.asp?sec_id=180010349
New Life Community Church - 301 W 2nd St, Grand Island,  308-384-5369  https://nlgi.church/
Northridge Assembly of God – 3025 Independence Ave, Grand Island,  308-381-7985
Peace Lutheran Church – 1710 N North Rd, Grand Island,  308-384-5673  https://www.peacegi.org/ 
Resurrection Catholic Church – 4110 Cannon Rd, Grand Island,  308-382-8644  https://www.giresurrection.com/ 
Rosedale United Methodist Church – 6980 W Rosedale Rd, Doniphan,  402-744-2221 http://doniphanrosedaleumc.org/  
St Ann’s Catholic Church – 202 N 5th St, Doniphan,  402-845-2707  https://stannsdoniphan.org/
St Leo’s Catholic Church - 2410 S Blaine St, Grand Island,  308-382-4753  https://www.saintleos.org/
St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral – 112 S Cedar St, Grand Island,  308-384-2523  https://www.stmarysgi.com/ 
St Mary’s Catholic Church – 1108 Dodd St, Wood River,  308-583-2464
St Paul Lutheran Church – 207 N 4th St, Doniphan,  402-845-2340
St Paul's Lutheran Church - 1515 S Harrison St, Grand Island,  308-382-2973  https://sites.google.com/view/stpaulsgi/home 
St Stephen’s Episcopal Church – 410 W 2nd St, Grand Island,  308-382-4961  https://www.ststephengi.org/ 
Solid Rock Baptist Church - 3221 W 13th St, Grand Island,  308-381-1072  https://solidrockbaptistchurch.org/
Spirit of Life Church - 2304 Macron St, Grand Island,  308-384-6880  https://www.spiritoflifene.com/
Third City Christian Church - 4100 W 13th St, Grand Island,  308-384-5038  http://www.thirdcitychristian.org/ 
Trinity Lutheran Church - 212 W 12th St, Grand Island,  308-382-0753  https://www.trinitylutherangi.org/
Trinity United Methodist Church - 511 N Elm St, Grand Island,  308-382-1952  https://www.trinityumcgi.org/
True North Church – 1804 W State St, Grand Island,  308-646-6388  http://www.truenorthgi.com/ 
United Congregational Church – 405 E Bismark Rd,  Grand Island,  308-382-6166
Wood River Mennonite Church – 14988 W Husker Hwy, Wood River,  308-583-2087  http://www.woodrivermennonite.org/
 
FUNERAL HOMES
 
All Faiths Funeral Home
2929 S Locust St
Grand Island, NE  68801
308-398-2929
 
Apfel Funeral Home Inc
1123 W 2nd St
Grand Island, NE  68801
308-384-0590
 
Curran Funeral Chapel
3005 S Locust St
Grand Island, NE  68801
308-384-8862
 
Livingston Butler Volland
123 W Plum St
Doniphan, NE  68832
402-845-6820
 
Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home
601 N Webb Rd, Grand Island, NE  68803
308-382-7070
 
LIBRARIES
Grand Island Public Library
1124 W 2nd St, Grand Island, NE  68801
308-385-5333
Includes LARGE genealogy resource room with Nebraska DAR collection
* Grand Island Public Library is a Family Search Affiliate Library
 
Maltman Memorial Library
910 Main St, Wood River, NE  68883
308-583-2349
 
Doniphan Community Library
105 W Plum St, Doniphan, NE 68832
 
Shelton Township Library
313 C St, Shelton NE 68876
308-647-5182
 
 
MUSEUMS
 
Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
3133 US Hwy 34, Grand Island, NE  68801
308-385-5316
 
Cairo Roots Museum
306 S Berber St, Cairo, NE  68824
308-485-4159
 
 
NEWSPAPERS
 
Grand Island Daily Independent
422 W First St
Grand Island, NE  68801
308-382-1000
 
Wood River Sunbeam / Shelton Clipper
P O Box 640
Shelton, NE  68876
308-647-5158
 
Doniphan Herald
P O Box 211
Doniphan, NE 68832
402-845-2937
 
Hall County, Nebraska Community Archives
 
SCHOOLS
 
Grand Island Public Schools
123 S Webb Rd
Grand Island, NE  68801
308-385-5900
 
Northwest Public Schools
2710 N North Rd
Grand Island, NE  68803
308-385-6398
 
Heartland Lutheran High School
3900 W Husker Hwy
Grand Island, NE  68803
308-385-3900
 
Grand Island Central Catholic
1200 Ruby Ave
Grand Island, NE  68803
308-384-2440
 
Doniphan Trumbull Public School
P O Box 300
Doniphan, NE  68832
402-845-2282
 
Wood River Rural Schools
13800 W Wood River Rd
Wood River, NE  68883
308-583-2249
 
SOCIETIES
 
Prairie Pioneer Genealogical Society
P O Box 1122
Grand Island, NE  68802
 
Hall County Historical Society
P O Box 1683
Grand Island, NE  68802
 
WEBSITES
 
Family Search Wiki, Hall County, NE
 
Hall County GenWeb 
 
Hall County at Genealogy Trails 
 
Hall County at Cyndi’s List
 
Hall County at Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness
 
Hall County Cemeteries at Nebraska Gravestones 
 
Hall County Cemeteries at Nebraska Cemeteries 
 
Hall County Linkpendium