Edward Creighton

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Edward Creighton (August 31, 1820 – November 5, 1874) was a prominent businessman in the early history of Omaha, Nebraska.

Creghton was born on a farm in Belmont County, Ohio. In the 1840s, he became involved in the freight shipping and telegraph businesses; by 1856, he had become one of the largest builders of telegraph lines in the United States. He married Mary Lucretia Wareham in Dayton, Ohio on October 7, 1856; the couple moved to Omaha after their wedding. He quickly became involved in several business ventures in Omaha, including wagon freighting, merchandising, real estate, banking, railroading and ranching.

In the winter of 1860-61, Creighton surveyed the route of the proposed Transcontinental Telegraph line between Omaha and Sacremento, to be built with the financial support of Western Union. He dug the first posthole for the telegraph line on July 2, 1861; the line was completed on October 24 of that year.

Creighton then turned his attention to banking and railroading. He served as the first president of First National Bank of Omaha and was one of the founders of the Omaha and Northwestern Railroad. He fought unsuccessfully for Omaha's selection as the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad (an honor given to Council Bluffs, Iowa).

After Creighton's death in 1874, a portion of his estate was used to establish Creighton College, known today as Creighton University. Creighton is a member of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Hall of Fame.