The prosperous little town of Alda is located eight miles south west of Grand Island on the main line of the Union Pacific railroad. The first settler in the vicintiy of Alda was W. G. Eldridge who settled on the northeast quarter of section 14, township 10, range 11, May, 1859. In the fall of that year he erected the first dwelling house in this part of the country. Charles and Arthur Lamberson located in Jackson township in the fall of 1866, having settled in the county the year before. Wood River was being settled up in the meantime, to the west of Alda.

W. W. Mitchell came to Hall County in 1871 and two years later he opened a store in Alda, also bought grain and sold farm machinery there. Mr. Mitchell continued this pioneer mercantile venture of Alda community for a number of years. In 1889 he moved to Wood River and engaged in the general merchandise business there. Mr. Mitchell has been one of the active constuctive spirits to whom considerable credit is due for the up-building of both Alda and Wood River.

The original name of the community formed here was Pawnee and this name was carried for quite a number of years, when it bacame necessary to abandon it, upon postal difficulties, and the name Alda was chosen. [Transcriber's note: According to "Perkey's Nebraska Place Names," the village was renamed Alda for the first white child born there, the daughter of a section foreman.]

W. H. Wilson opened a general store here in February, 1881. W. C. Johnson later operated a store. James Marsh conducted a store in the 'eighties. The Mitchell stock was passed on to Dan O'Kane, then to W. W. Gallup, and finally closed out. At present the town has four important stores. The aJ. W. Modesitt store is operatied in a building which Mr. Modesitt built for it in 1911. The John McLellan store, recently sold to J. D. Shriner, has a long and varied history. It passed from the hands of Mr. Steubel to Wilson and Andrews, and to Frank Powell, who closed out. Then Frank Hastings started the stock in and passed it to J. W. Modesitt, who not only rand the store, but bought grain, and in 1886 assumed the duties of postmaster. He remained in charge of this store for twenty years and sold it to Mr. Knox, about 1906, who passed it on to John McLellan. After ten years operation of this business, Mr. McLellan sold the business to Messrs. Osborn and Graham of Gibbon, who did not move to Alda and can hardly be counted as having operated the business, but who sold it to J. D. Shriner, the present owner.

In additon to those already named there are the Robert Ellis stock and the Alda Specialty Store, operated by P. J. Balmat.

Alda had a good lumber yard. About 1910 a local company was formed to handle a lumber business. John McLellan became president, P. C. Kelley, vice-president, and Mr. Gallup, secretary-treasurer. It was sold during 1919.

In 1886 John Fleisher inaugurated hotel service in Alda with The Traveler's Home. The present hotel is conducted by J. Travis.

Alda has two bank, the Alda State Bank, and the Farmers' State Bank. It had a blacksmith shop as early as 1886, Inman's. It now has three shops, those of D. W. Forrest, Alva Phillips, and Dan George.

The church activities are carried on throught the Friends' and Methodist's organizations. The first services of the Methodist people were held in an old school house. There had been one Specht, a Christian minister, holding meetings. Jeremiah Parker, John Fleisher, Gilbert Slater, and J. W. Modesitt joined forces, bouth the old school house, and gave a note for $450 for the same. Mr. Modesitt relates that Zachmont Joy came to thim and wanted to convert the enterprise into a Unitarian church. Slater, Parker, and Fleisher tuned in their stock. They said they would support it, so go ahead. Zachmont Joy had the note taken up, and carried it on awhile. Herbert Mott, a cowboy preacher for the Friends, came in next. Mott got to talking against baptism. McReynolds and Campbell were later pastors.Powers came out from Grand Island. An irritation had been aroused by Mott's talks against baptism, and the Methodists took over the building.

The creamery operations in the community are carried on by the Omaha Cold Storage Co., which has maintained a station here for some years. The Trans-Mississippi Elevator, with A. J. Fulsinger manager, and Omaha Elevator Co., with Geo. Calnon, manager are now out of business. The Farmer's Elevator Co., formerly managed by W. W. Gallup and now by G. E. Calnon, remain. The newest enterprise is that of the Famers Cooperative and Educational Union.

Alda's first garage was built about 1912 by F. H. Denman. The town now has two garages, that of Knox & Gallup, and Barr & Fitchhorn. F. H. Denman continues to handle agricultural implements. The community has had telephne facilities since 1912, when the Nebraska Telephone Co. came in.

J. W. Modesitt was postmaster from 1886 until 1906, when he was succeeded by John McLellan. Miss Pearl Balmat succeeded him in 1916, and still conducts the office.