About Holdrege

Holdrege is the county seat of Phelps County and the largest town in it, with 5,515 residents at the 2020 census. U.S. Highway 183 runs north and south through the city, and U.S. 6 and 34 run east and west. The city covers about 3.87 square miles. Amtrak's California Zephyr stops here daily.

History

The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad chose a route about seven miles south-east of Phelps Center in October 1883, and Holdrege followed. The town is named for George W. Holdrege, the railroad official who oversaw much of the company's Nebraska mileage. The company offered free lots to businesses willing to move, and 132 buildings were standing by the time the first train arrived on 10 December 1883. Holdrege incorporated as a village in 1884 and took the county seat from Phelps Center that November. Within three years the population had passed 2,000.

Swedish settlement

Most early settlers in Phelps County were Swedes, many of them arriving by way of established Swedish communities in Illinois rather than direct from Sweden. Farming stayed central, and the local soil type carries the name Holdrege silt loam.

Nebraska Prairie Museum

The museum sits a mile north of town on U.S. 183 and draws about 23,000 visitors a year. Its interpretive center covers Camp Atlanta, the Second World War prisoner of war camp built in Phelps County in 1943 that held some 3,000 German soldiers before it was phased out in 1945 and 1946. A guard tower from the camp stands on the grounds, along with a one-room schoolhouse, a church and a windmill.

View All Holdrege Listings →