By The Explore Nebraska History team
In 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, known as the G.I. Bill of Rights. This ushered in sweeping changes to America’s colleges and universities by paying for the tuition of World War II veterans…

By The Explore Nebraska History team
McCormick Hall opened in 1884. It is named for Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the mechanical reaper, who donated $5,000 to help finance construction of the building. The first building on the Hastings College campus, it was the intellectual,…

By The Explore Nebraska History team
Brickmaking in Hastings began in 1878, six years after the town was established. A year later much of the downtown was destroyed by fire in September 1879. Following the fire, the city passed an ordinance requiring future commercial buildings to…

By The Explore Nebraska History team
The Central Hastings Historic District began at this site in 1878 when Samuel Alexander, using his 160-acre homestead, created the first northern addition to Hastings. This National Register district physically documents the three major periods of…