How Holdrege, Nebraska Got Its Name (The Burlington's Man in Nebraska)
Holdrege, Nebraska, is named for George W. Holdrege, the Burlington railroad official who ran its Nebraska lines for decades. The town started in 1883, right after his railroad came through.
Where the name comes from
A 1925 study of Nebraska place names says “Holdrege was named in honor of George W. Holdrege, superintendent of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad,” and that the town “was established in 1883, just after the railroad was built through the vicinity.”
Who Holdrege was
History Nebraska, the state’s historical society, keeps his papers. Its guide to them says he started out in 1869 as a clerk for the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad at Plattsmouth and was made general manager of the Burlington’s Omaha office in 1882. That’s why sources give him different titles: superintendent in one place, general manager in another. He spent his career building and running the Burlington in Nebraska, and died in 1926.
If his name sounds familiar on this site, that’s because he shows up in another town’s story too. The same 1925 study credits Holdrege with picking the name of Alliance, up in the Panhandle.
A railroad town
The city says the town was settled mostly by immigrants from Sweden. The U.S. Geological Survey’s record says Holdrege was founded in 1883, incorporated in 1884 and became the county seat of Phelps County that same year.
Sources & further reading
- Lilian Linder Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (University of Nebraska, 1925). A public-domain study of the state’s place names, county by county. Named for George W. Holdrege; established in 1883 after the railroad came through.
- History Nebraska, “George Ward Holdrege, 1847-1926.” The guide to his papers: clerk at Plattsmouth in 1869, general manager in 1882.
- City of Holdrege, “About Holdrege.” Settled mostly by Swedish immigrants.
- GNIS feature 830051 (U.S. Geological Survey). The federal record for Holdrege. Founded 1883; incorporated 1884; county seat 1884.
Spot something wrong? Corrections are noted here with their date, never made silently.
