Grand Island, city, seat of Hall County, central Nebraska, near the Platte River; incorporated 1873. It is the trade, processing, and shipping center of a farm and livestock-raising area. Manufactures include farm equipment and construction materials. A community college and the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer are here. Established on the Platte River in 1857, the city was moved in 1866 to its present site, where a railroad was being constructed. It was badly damaged by tornadoes in 1980. Its name refers to a large island in the Platte River. Population 33,180 (1980); 39,386 (1990); 42,940 (2000).
