An important regional rail center, Hastings began as a wholesale depot that supplied northern Kansas and southwestern Nebraska. During World War II its Naval Ammunitions Depot supplied 40 percent of the Navy's bombs, shells and rockets. The Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History features a display dedicated to Kool-Aid, which was invented here in 1927. Roadside markers commemorating the Oregon Trail and Pony Express also are found in the surrounding area. Learn More...