Grand Island, Nebraska

==History==
[[File:Grand Island, Nebraska (1867).jpg|thumb|alt=Black-and-white photo: ca. 20 one-story buildings on treeless prairie|Grand Island, 1867]]
[[File:Nebraska - Benedict through Grant - NARA - 23942149 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view of Grand Island, 1925]]
In 1857, 35 German settlers left [[Davenport, Iowa]], and headed west to Nebraska to start a new settlement on an island<ref name=bowman>{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=J. R.|editor1-last=Shearer|editor1-first=Frederick E.|title=The Pacific tourist. J.R. Bowman's illustrated transcontinental guide of travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean|date=1882|publisher=J.R. Bowman|location=New York|page=26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nbsUAAAAYAAJ&q=The%20Pacific%20tourist.%20J.R.%20Bowman's%20illustrated%20transcontinental%20guide%20of%20travel%20from%20the%20Atlantic%20to%20the%20Pacific%20Ocean&pg=PA230V|access-date=13 May 2018|oclc=752667534}}</ref> known by French traders as ''La Grande Isle'', which was formed by the Wood River and the [[Platte River]]. The settlers reached their destination on July 4, 1857, and by September had built housing using local timber. They set up farms but initially had no market to sell their goods until a market opened at [[Fort Kearny]]. When the [[Pike's Peak Gold Rush]] began, Grand Island was the last place travelers could obtain supplies before they crossed the plains.<ref name=bowman />

Surveyors from the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] (UP) laid out a town called Grand Island Station and many settlers living on Grand Island moved to the new town, located slightly inland from the island.<ref name="history">{{cite web |url=http://www.grand-island.com/index.aspx?page=253 |title=History |work=City of Grand Island, Nebraska |year=2011 |access-date=June 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623000326/http://www.grand-island.com/index.aspx?page=253 |archive-date=June 23, 2011 }}</ref> In 1868 the railroad reached the area, bringing increased trade and business. Grand Island became the end of the east division of the railroad and UP built service facilities for their locomotives in the town as well as an elegant hotel for passengers providing a boost for the local economy. The cost of the railroad coming into town was the denudement of most of the hardwood trees on the island for use as ties for the railroad.<ref name=bowman /> By 1870, 1,057 people lived in the town and in 1872 the town was incorporated as Grand Island.<ref name=website>{{cite web |url= http://www.grand-island.com/index.aspx?page=147 |title= The Pioneer Spirit |work= City of Grand Island, Nebraska |year= 2011 |access-date= June 2, 2011 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110623000321/http://www.grand-island.com/index.aspx?page=147 |archive-date= June 23, 2011 }}</ref>

In about 1890, [[sugar beets]] were introduced as a crop in Nebraska. The first sugar beet processing factory in the United States was built in the southwest part of Grand Island.<ref name=website/>

===1980 tornadoes===
{{Main|1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak}}

On June 3, 1980, Grand Island was hit by a massive [[supercell]] storm. Through the course of the evening, the city was ravaged by seven [[tornado]]es, the worst of which was rated F4 on the [[Fujita Scale]]. The hardest hit area of town was the South Locust business district. There were five deaths as a result of the tornadoes.

Tornado Hill is a local landmark created as a direct result of the tornadoes. Debris that could not be recycled was burned near Fonner Park and what remained was buried within Ryder Park, on the west end of town. The base of the hill was a hole 6–8 feet deep and nearly 200 feet across, and the hill is 40 feet high. It is used for sledding in this otherwise flat area.<ref name=independent>{{cite web |url=http://www.gitwisters.com/tenyears/tornadohill.php |title=The Real Night of the Twisters |first=Brad |last=Frisvold |work=gitwisters.com |year=2011 |publisher=The Independent |location=Grand Island, NE |access-date=June 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731041332/http://www.gitwisters.com/tenyears/tornadohill.php |archive-date=July 31, 2012 }}</ref>

A book, ''[[Night of the Twisters]]'', by Ivy Ruckman, and movie were based on this event.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gitwisters.com/bookmovie/twistersmovie.php |title=The Real Night of the Twisters |first=Colleen |last=O'Neill |work=gitwisters.com |year=2011 |publisher=The Independent |location=Grand Island, NE |access-date=June 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130111055242/http://www.gitwisters.com/bookmovie/twistersmovie.php |archive-date=January 11, 2013 }}</ref>