Our History
Bird's Eye View of Hershey, circa 1915 (Nebraska State Historical Society)
The town of Hershey, located on the north bank of the South Platte River, has a history rooted in the very early years of Lincoln County. The location is north and east of O'Fallon's Bluff, and in 1890, the name of the local post office was changed from O'Fallon's to Hershey. The town was formally platted two years later, named for local rancher J.H. Hershey, who with partner William Paxton promoted many business undertakings in the area. It wasn't until 1909 that Hershey was incorporated as a village. Like many of the county towns, Hershey grew in the first years of the twentieth century.
From the late 1800s until the early 1900s, the Western Cattle Trail was a major route for transporting cattle from Texas to markets in the Midwest. The trail passed through Hershey, and the town was a popular spot for cowboys and cattlemen to rest and resupply.
Two banks were opened, one in 1903 and one in 1917. In 1910, the population had reached 332, but the prosperity was temporarily halted by a tornado in that year that damaged most of the businesses in the town. Despite the setback, the community rebuilt and gained 150 people in the next ten years.
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The next several decades were difficult ones. The banks went broke, with both gone by 1931. To keep the town afloat, a credit union operated until 1968, when a new bank finally opened. This signaled a growth spurt for Hershey that was evidenced by a town replat and the construction of twenty-one new homes, due in part to the expansion of nearby Union Pacific yards. In 1980, the town recorded its peak population of 633 people. Although it is only twelve miles west of North Platte, Hershey was the third-largest town in the county in 1990 with a population of 579.
Home Lumber & Supply, Hershey
Home Styles
LEFT:
Queen-Anne Classic Subtype, c1908
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RIGHT:
Vernacular with Neo-Classica Porch, c1910
Railroad History
Although the first Union Pacific tracks were laid here in 1866, the town of Hershey wasn't organized until nearly 30 years later. That's when farmers and ranchers got together to organize a town to have a post office and a railroad siding from which they could transport wheat, hay, corn, and potatoes — resources that were abundant in the area. Before this time, the closest post office was in O'Fallons, a nearby town that was an original stop on the Pony Express.
TOP: Photograph of a train station in Hershey, 1930. The building was later moved to Cody Park in nearby North Platte.
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RIGHT: Photograph showing the loading of boxcars by men unloading from horse drawn wagons in Hershey, 1890.
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In the early years of the Union Pacific Railroad, Hershey was a boomtown filled with railroad workers and their families. The railroad company built a large camp near Hershey to house the workers during the construction of the rail line.
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Highway History
The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway in the United States, stretching from New York City to San Francisco. The highway passed through Hershey, and it was an important route for travelers and freight moving through the region. Today, parts of the Lincoln Highway still exist and are preserved as historic landmarks.