Alda Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Hall County · Population 647 (2020 census) · ZIP 68810 · Founded 1859 · Peak population 652 (2000)

About Alda

Alda is a village of 647 people (2020) in Hall County, at 1,916 feet on US 30 and the Union Pacific main line about 7 miles west-southwest of Grand Island; Wood River is about 8 miles farther west. I-80 Exit 305 is just south, with the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center and the Alda Crane Viewing Site on the Platte beyond it. Alda is on Central Time.

History

W. G. Eldridge, the first settler, arrived in May 1859 and built the first house that fall. The place grew on the Union Pacific main line; W. W. Mitchell opened a store in 1873, and J. W. Modesitt was postmaster from 1886 to 1906. It was first called Pawnee and was renamed Alda because of postal confusion; local tradition says the name honors the first white child born there, a section foreman’s daughter. The population peaked at 652 in 2000. About a mile and a half south, the Townsley–Murdock Immigrant Trail Site preserves never-plowed prairie along the overland trail.

Highways and trails through Alda

Route	One way	Other way
US 30East–west through the village	West to Wood River	East to Grand Island
I-80Exit 305 (Alda Rd.), just south	West to Kearney	East to Grand Island

Nearby towns

Grand Island	about 7 mi east-northeast	US 30
Wood River	about 8 mi west-southwest	US 30
Doniphan	about 8 mi southeast	County roads
Cairo	about 12 mi northwest	County roads
Phillips	about 13 mi east	County roads
Prosser	about 14 mi south-southwest	County roads
Shelton	about 15 mi west-southwest	US 30
Hastings	about 19 mi south-southeast	I-80 and US 281

Things to see

the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center, 9325 S. Alda Rd. (I-80 Exit 305) · the free Alda Crane Viewing Site, 2 miles south of Exit 305 · the Townsley–Murdock Immigrant Trail Site (National Register), at Guenther and Alda roads · Loch Linda WMA on the Platte · Heartland Public Shooting Park, 6788 W. Husker Hwy.

Health care

Hospitals: CHI Health St. Francis and Grand Island Regional Medical Center, Grand Island, about 7 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Buechler, Barr & Stough, History of Hall County (1920); History Nebraska and its markers; National Register; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Game and Parks; Central Platte NRD; Crane Trust; City of Grand Island; City of Wood River; Tourism Grand Island visitor guides (2024, 2025); Central Nebraska Regional Airport; school districts. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.