Hastings was founded in 1872 at the intersection of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad and St. Joseph and Denver City Railroad.
Hastings was named for Colonel D. T. Hastings of St. Joseph and Grand Island Railroad, who was instrumental in building the railroad through Adams County.
Hastings has a total area of 13.66 square miles, of which 13.48 square miles is land and 0.18 square miles is water.
A National Weather Service Forecast Office is located in Hastings, serving central and south-central Nebraska and six counties in north-central Kansas.
Hastings is the principal city of the Hastings, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Adams and Clay counties.
Hastings is known as the town where Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in 1927 and celebrates that event with the Kool-Aid Days festival every August.
Hastings is known for Fisher Fountain, The Jacob Fisher Rainbow Fountain in Highland Park is the largest water fountain between Chicago and Denver.
During World War II Hastings operated the largest Naval Ammunition Depot in the United States.
Hastings Municipal Airport, owned and operated by the City of Hastings
Heartwell Park and Central Hastings, two of the oldest neighbourhoods, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
