1870

Liederkranz Society was formed. It is Grand Island's oldest social organization.

1872

Grand Island Station became an incorporated town. A mayor and city council were elected.

1873

The first courthouse was built at Second and Elm Streets where Pioneer Park is today.

1874

A grasshopper plague destroyed crops and nearly shut off the sunlight.

Grasshopper plague - Student Art

1874

In April, 1874, Engleman School's first nine students were reported to the county superintendent. The original building was built on Engleman land near what is now Capital Avenue.

Grand Island Building Boom

of the 1880's

1880 Union Pacific Machine Shop

1881 S.N. Wolbach Store

1882 Masonic Temple and Bartenbach Opera House

1884 Howard School and an addition was completed to Dodge School.

1885 St. Paul's Lutheran Church and St. Francis Hospital

1886 Wasmer School, Stolley Park School and Seedling Mile School

The G.A.R Hall

1887 Palmer House Hotel Soldiers and Sailors Home

1888 St. Mary's Catholic Church, the First Baptist Church, the Union Pacific Roundhouse, Platt School

1889 City Hall Building, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Oxnard Beet Sugar Factory

 

Grand Island even had a horse and mule powered street car system.

1883

A local telephone company had 65 customers.

1884

The Burlington Railroad came through Grand Island. It was a north/south track. Grand Island is a transportation center.

 

Platte Duetsche Society, one of the oldest German social groups, was organized.

1888

The Blizzard of 1888 was one of the worst storms to ever hit Grand Island. One person said it was 58 degrees below zero. The blizzard was also known as the School Children's Blizzard because it started on a Thursday afternoon as kids were leaving school. January 12 was a fine day. It was so warm that some kids didn't wear coats, but in the afternoon the sky turned black and the weather got bad. Then it struck and the snow whitened the sky.

 

 

A historical marker near Ord, Nebraska reads:

On January 12, 1888, a sudden fierce blizzard slashed across the state. The temperature fell to between 30 and 40 degrees below zero. A howling northwest wind swept the plains. The storm raged for 12 to 18 hours ... Sometimes called "the school children's storm," the blizzard caught many children away from home. Many acts of heroism were performed by parents, teachers, and the children themselves. The story of Minnie Freeman has become symbolic of these many acts of heroism. Miss Freeman, still in her teens at the time, was teaching at a school near Ord. When the wind tore the roof off the sod schoolhouse, Miss Freeman saved her pupils by leading them through the storm to a farmhouse a half mile away.

Many other teachers performed similar acts of heroism, and at least one lost her life in the attempt. No accurate count of the total deaths from the storm is possible, but estimates for Nebraska have ranged from 40 to 100.

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