Stein Brothers Building
630 W. 2nd St., Hastings, NEIn 1902 Edmund and Herman Stein, natives of Harvard, Nebraska, purchased a dry goods business and an adjacent hardware store in Hastings. The building containing these stores burned three years later and the brothers were forced to relocate while Charles H. Dietrich, a prominent Hastings citizen, and a former Nebraska Governor and U.S. Senator, had a new building constructed to house the Steins' business. (For additional information on Dietrich, see National Register nomination of the Nowlan-Dietrich House, Adams County, submitted to Washington, D.C., February 16, 1979). Dietrich's new building was completed in 1906 and the Steins rented the building for nineteen years, purchasing it from the Dietrich estate in 1925 for $72,500 (The Hastings Democrat, June 11, 1925, p. 1).
The 1890s in Hastings and Nebraska had experienced high taxes and low prices for farm commodities, and between 1890-1900 Hastings' population decreased from 13,584 to 7,188 (Creigh, Adams County: The Story, p. 37). But the twentieth century's first decade was a social and financial renaissance for Hastings: "The weather had been favorable, the crops fine, and prices held; new businesses were coming into town, buildings were being constructed, and there was an air of optimism about everything in general".
The Stein brothers selected a strategic time to locate a general-type retail business in Hastings, and as prosperity increased they phased out such items as groceries and furniture to concentrate on finer merchandise:
Buyers for the store made regular trips to Europe, buying Belgian laces, Bavarian china, Bohemian crystal, English silver, French kid gloves, and other goods directly from the manufacturers. An old-time Stein employee recalls that the only time buyers were chided upon their return home was when they did not buy large enough stocks.
The Steins, who also purchased from manufacturers throughout the United States, were among the first advertisers in local papers to list specific stock and prices, and seasonal displays in the expanse of windows facing West Second Street were anxiously anticipated by residents and shoppers. The Stein Brothers Store came to enjoy the patronage of the people in a wide area of central Nebraska and northern Kansas--a reputation for up-to-date merchandise being no small factor in its success (Hastings Daily Tribune, Nov. 17, 1933, p. 1). "old-timers who knew the store say now that neither before nor since has any single store in Hastings provided the quality, volume, and variety of goods that the Stein store supplied.
With the Great Depression, the Stein Brothers Store was closed in 1933. Between the closing announcement and the final day of business, even the most impoverished citizens flocked to make their last purchases from a store that had been an important part of Hastings' business community. From 1934-68 the building housed a Chicago chain department store, and since 1968 it has either been vacant or used for storage.
The 1906 Stein Brothers are among the best-preserved older commercial structures in Hastings. Interestingly, it exhibits those tendencies that numerous contemporary residences were experiencing; proportions are low, there is a strong horizontal emphasis, the cornice treatment is quiet, and the edifice is generally lacking in those neoclassical tendencies so indicative of early-20th-century commercial buildings. The product can properly be termed a Prairie-style building, with its being surprisingly advanced for a community under 10,000 (ca. 1906) removed from the great metropolitan centers.
The name of the Stein Brothers Building's designer has not surfaced, but it is known that a professional architect was involved. February 17, 1906, issue of the Hastings Daily Tribune reported: "Both Mr. Dietrich and Mr. Cromier went to Omaha this afternoon to consult their architect...". The Omaha architect referred to in the newspaper was probably John Latenser (1858-1936), a native of Liechtenstein who had attended the Technical School in Stuttgart, Germany, before emigrating to the United States, where he worked in Chicago and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, prior to settling in Omaha (Lincoln State Journal, Dec. 7, 1936, p. 1). Several characteristics of Latenser's works appear in the Hastings building. These characteristics include; the use of color as opposed to red brick, the application of classical motifs in stone and terracotta, an emphatic horizontality, and abstract compositions proclaiming the facade's tern Latenser did not limit his designs to Omaha; on occasions, he planned buildings in central Nebraska, among these the Custer County Courthouse and Jail in Broken Bow, 140 miles northwest of Hastings (see National Register nomination for the Custer County Courthouse and Jail, submitted to Washington, D.C., February 23, 1979).
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
Nebraska was admitted to the Union on March 1, 1867, becoming the 37th state in the United States.
The county was officially established on July 19, 1867, following the Homestead Act of 1862, which encouraged settlement in the west. It was named in honor of John Adams, the second President of the United States. The first recorded settlement in the county was made in 1863 by William McPherson and his family.
During this time, agriculture was the primary industry in Adams County, and settlers focused on establishing prosperous farms. The county's fertile soil and favorable climate made it an ideal location for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and soybeans. The arrival of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in 1872 further facilitated the growth of agriculture and connected the county to national markets.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the county's population continued to grow steadily. Towns such as Hastings, the county seat, saw the development of schools, churches, and businesses, becoming vibrant communities. The county also witnessed advancements in transportation infrastructure, with the construction of paved roads and the implementation of the Lincoln Highway, one of the country's earliest transcontinental highways, in the early 20th century.
Today, Adams County continues to thrive as an agricultural powerhouse, with farming and agribusiness remaining vital to its economy. The county also boasts a diverse range of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, education, and services. With a strong sense of community and a rich heritage, Adams County holds a unique place in Nebraska's history and continues to grow and evolve in the 21st century.
Adams County Timeline
This timeline provides a condensed summary of the historical journey of Adams County, Nebraska.
- 1866 - Adams County is established.
- 1872 - The first post office is established in the county.
- 1873 - The county seat is established in the town of Hastings.
- 1880 - The population of Adams County reaches over 14,000.
- 1916 - The Adams County courthouse is built in Hastings.
- 1950 - The population of Adams County peaks at over 30,000.
- 1975 - The Adams County Historical Society is formed.
- 1995 - The Adams County Fairgrounds are renovated and expanded.
- 2010 - Adams County celebrates its 150th anniversary.