Catch up on some History!

Hyannis, Nebraska, the county seat of Grant County, got its start when the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad came through the area in 1887.

The first term of court for the county was held in 1887 for cattle stealing. There was but one store in town and no courthouse, so Judge Abbott presided over the trial outdoors.

When the railroad arrived the following year the town was officially laid out. A post office was established along with a railroad station which were named after Hyannis, Massachusetts, by a railroad official. Saloons and gambling houses were the first buildings constructed, and a lumber dealer and general store followed. Settlers arriving at the end of the line quickly took up claims and established homes, churches, and schools.

By 1890, Hyannis boasted a population of 200, and the area was described as “one of the best stock-raising countries in the West.” At the time it had three stores, a lumberyard, a newspaper, a drug store, blacksmith, saloon, hotel, and a livery.

In 1898 another hotel was built by Sherman Sears called the Hotel DeFair or the Hyannis Hotel, which still stands today. It was once considered to be the best hotel and restaurant in western Nebraska. The door on the north was for men and the one on the south for women only, so that the women would not have to pass by the men who gathered in the lobby. The third floor was not as nice as the other floors, and these cheaper rooms were rented to cowboys, ranch hands, and other individuals he might consider less than refined. The old hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places today.

A new train depot was built in 1901, and Theodore Roosevelt came through Hyannis on a special train before the 1904 presidential election. People of the county gathered in full force, and many rode horseback for miles to see the president make an address from the local brand stand near the Burlington railroad tracks. He was the only president to visit in the history of the town.

The Kinkaid Act of 1904 brought a new wave of settlement as people attempted to farm the fragile Sandhills. However, once the land was plowed, the sand beneath the soil began to blow, and most farmers gave up, selling their land to large ranchers, who accumulated large tracts of land, some over 50,000 acres.

In 1974, several old-time cowboys reminiscing in McKillipp’s Hotel in Hyannis resulted in the planning of the first “Old Timers Rodeo”. It was so successful that there are now 60 such groups in the United States and Canada. Now, the National Old Time Rodeo Association sponsors finals contests all over the nation.

The Hyannis Cemetery is on the hillside to the north and offers a view of the beautiful Sandhills. The oldest gravesite is from 1890. Hyannis is now home to a little over 150 people, and the Hyannis Hotel still proudly serves the people of western Nebraska.