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Alda, Nebraska

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Alda Township. It lies in ZIP code area 68810. The Survey maps it on the Alda quadrangle. 647 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,916 feet above sea level.

Alda within Hall County

On record in Alda

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Alda grew from 642 to 647 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010642
2020647+5 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 16 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

2,439 words on this township

History of Hall County, Nebraska; a Narrative of the Past with Special Emphasis Upon the Pioneer Period of the County's History, and Chronological Presentation of Its Social, Commercial, Educational, Religious, and Civic Development from the Early Days to the Present Time, and Special Analysis of Its Military and Civil Participation in the Late World War, published 1920 names this settlement in its chapter on Alda Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

W. G. Eldridge located in Hall County on May 20, 1859, on the northeast quarter of section 14, town 10, lange 11. The country was then decidedly sparsely settled. The nearest neighbors on the west were eight miles away. Buffalo, deer, antelope, wolves, and Indians roamed over the vast treeless plains with wild freedom, undaunted by the approach of any white neighbors. A few hundred Indians camping near Mr. Eldridge's humble habitation was not an unusual occurrence. He erected the first dwelling in the fall of 1859. Mr. Eldridge, the father of the Alda community, was a native of Lafayette, Indiana, born on December 23, 1882. He moved to Middleport, Illinois, at the age of twenty-one and carried on a harness shop until 1856. He went to Kansas then and without any permanent place of settlement traded ponies and horse with Indians and whites alike. Returning to Indiana in the winter of 1858, he stayed only long enough to get started for Nebraska in March, 1859. He was married in Hall County, in the fall of 1860 to Miss S. S. Shinton, a native of England. They had five children, Annie E. who became the wife of Warren Winslow, Jessie N., Mary I., Jasper J., and Fannie A.

Passage source: History of Hall County, Nebraska; a Narrative of the Past with Special Emphasis Upon the Pioneer Period of the County's History, and Chronological Presentation of Its Social, Commercial, Educational, Religious, and Civic Development from the Early Days to the Present Time, and Special Analysis of Its Military and Civil Participation in the Late World War, published 1920.

Squire Lamb came to this part of the country in 1858. The Reese family came in 1860. In the meantime John Thomssen, one of the thirty-five members of the colony which settled near Grand Island in 1857, was married in 1860 to the one single lady who had ac- companied the original colony to Hall County. During the year 1860 this bridal couple setteled down and became pioneers of the present Alda township. Mr. and Mrs. N. V. Hansen settled on a place adjoining the Thomssen's. Other very early settlers were John Ring and two sons, John House and family, the Hann family, Henry Gam, and Charles and Arthur Lamberson. Francis Corkins came from Illinois to this part of Hall County in the fall of 1867. He worked through that neighborhood until 1875, then was married to Miss Harriet E. Smith and took a soldier's homestead.

Passage source: History of Hall County, Nebraska; a Narrative of the Past with Special Emphasis Upon the Pioneer Period of the County's History, and Chronological Presentation of Its Social, Commercial, Educational, Religious, and Civic Development from the Early Days to the Present Time, and Special Analysis of Its Military and Civil Participation in the Late World War, published 1920.

W. H. Norton came to this part of the county in 1867. He worked on the Union Pacific railroad during the summers of 1867 and 1868, then settled down .on section 14, town 10, range 11. W. W. Mitchell came to Alda vicinity in 1871 and two years later embarked in business in Pawnee, now Alda.

Passage source: History of Hall County, Nebraska; a Narrative of the Past with Special Emphasis Upon the Pioneer Period of the County's History, and Chronological Presentation of Its Social, Commercial, Educational, Religious, and Civic Development from the Early Days to the Present Time, and Special Analysis of Its Military and Civil Participation in the Late World War, published 1920.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Alda Township - it names this place 5 more 5 times.

Fires near this place

4 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Alda between 2006 and 2020, burning about 40 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 June 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
17 May 2019Debris and open burning38 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
15 April 2020Debris and open burning1.2 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
5 March 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Hall County

Storms near this place

33 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alda in 33 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 20 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2024Flash FloodAlda$250,000Strong thunderstorms with heavy rainfall rates dropped 3 to 5 inches of rain in the Grand Island area, with much of that falling within 2 hours. Law enforcement reported multiple flooded intersections and stalled vehicles, and water coming up through a few manhole covers.
August 2014HailAlda$150,000Estimated wind gusts of 60 mph were also reported with the quarter size hail. This was reported by the general public driving on Interstate 80 and was relayed by law enforcement.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindAlda$150,000Quarter size hail also occurred along with the estimated 60 mph wind gusts reported the public driving on Interstate 80. This report was relayed by law enforcement.
June 1997HailAlda$150,000no account filed
April 2024Flash FloodAlda$100,000Strong thunderstorms with heavy rainfall rates dropped 3 to 6 inches of rain in the Wood River area, with 2 to 4 inches of that falling within 2 hours. Report from social media noted street flooding in Wood River, with some streets blocked off.
August 2018HailAlda$100,000Hail up to 2 inches in diameter was reported.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindAlda$25,000Wind gusts estimated to be near 75 MPH caused semi trucks to be blown over on Interstate 80 near mile marker 305.
May 2004HailAlda$25,000no account filed
May 1998HailAlda$15,000no account filed
April 2013HailAlda$10,000Hail covered the ground and lasted for about 5 minutes.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindAlda$10,000no account filed
June 2008HailAlda$5,000no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindAlda$3,000A semi truck and trailer were blown over near the Alda interchange of Interstate 80.
July 1996HailAlda$2,000no account filed
April 2025HailAlda-Hail up to the size of half dollars was reported along this path.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindAlda-A wind gust of 63 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located two miles west-northwest of Alda.
July 2022HailAlda-Hail ranging in size from quarters to half dollars was reported along this path.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindAlda-A wind gust of 64 MPH was recorded by a mesonet station located 3 miles west-northwest of Alda.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindAlda-An 80 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 3 miles west-northwest of Alda at 2:42 AM CDT. A 71 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 2 miles north of Alda at 2:44 AM CDT. A 66 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 3 miles northeast of Alda at 2:46 AM CDT. Significant damage to a large metal building was reported 3 miles northwest of Alda.
August 2017Heavy RainAlda-A 24-hour precipitation amount of 4.18 inches was recorded 4 miles east of Alda.
May 2015Tornado (EF0)Alda-This tornado briefly touched down and was reported by a trained spotter. No damage occurred.
August 2014HailAlda-Quarter size hail occurred near the intersection of Highway 30 and Engleman Road. This report was received via Facebook.
April 2014HailAlda-Quarter to walnut size hail occurred near the Interstate 80 exit for Alda. This report, along with a photo, was received via Twitter.
June 2013HailAlda-Hail was ongoing at the time of the report.
April 2013Thunderstorm WindAlda-The electrical power was out in town.
June 2008HailAlda-Pea to nickel size hail was reported.
May 2024HailAlda-no account filed
June 2020HailAlda-no account filed
May 2016HailAlda-no account filed
May 2013HailAlda-no account filed
June 2011HailAlda-no account filed
February 2007FloodAlda-no account filed
May 1996HailAlda-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Hall County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Parkview6.8 miles17
Ovina6.8 miles17
Abbott7.2 miles17
Kingwood Estates7.4 miles17
Grand Island7.6 miles17
Wood River7.8 miles15
Pioneer Estates8.5 miles17
Doniphan8.6 miles16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on AldaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1274906The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 826936. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.