Holdrege is a city in Phelps County, Nebraska, United States.

He constructed most of the line's mileage in Nebraska, including a section through this small settlement in Phelps County.

On December 10, 1883, the first train arrived in Holdrege, a little pioneer town inhabited by 200 people.

In 1884, a campaign was started to move the county seat from Phelps Center to Holdrege, and an election was scheduled for October.

With calm assurance of victory at the polls, Holdrege laid the cornerstone of the building intended to be the Phelps County Courthouse.

Holdrege was incorporated on February 14, 1884, and quickly became the metropolis of the county, being well located with good roads from all directions.

In 1910, C. W. McConaughy, a Holdrege grain dealer, began crusading for use of the Platte River to supplement subsoil moisture for farmlands in the area.

A large increase in the population of Holdrege in the immediate post-war years was due mostly to irrigation.

With irrigation came both stable and increased crop production, which brought a pipeline company, grain elevators, and agriculture-related businesses to town.

[8] The 2020 United States census[13] counted 5,515 people, 2,438 households, and 1,370 families in Holdrege.

32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

A bus system is operated by the Phelps County Senior Center.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides daily service through Holdrege, operating its California Zephyr daily in both directions between Chicago and Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco.