History of Omaha, Nebraska

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The history of Omaha, Nebraska is storied, including controversy, economic booms, violence, prosperity and redevelopment.

Contents 1 About 2 Native American history 3 European settlement 4 Founding and growth 5 Nebraska Territory Capitol 6 Late 1800s 7 1900-1949 7.1 Civil Rights Movement 8 1950-1999 9 2000-present: Demolition and redevelopment 10 Historic landmarks 11 Historic neighborhoods and suburbs 12 See also 13 References

[edit] About

Since the 1600's, the Pawnee, Otoe, Sioux, the Missouri and Ioway all variously occupied the land that became Omaha. The word "Omaha" (actually U-Mo'n-Ho'n) means "Dwellers on the Bluff".^[1]. The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed by the riverbanks that would later become the city of Omaha in 1804, and met on Council Bluff at a point about 20 miles (30 km) north of present-day Omaha, at which point they met with the Otoe. That same area saw the development of Fort Lisa in 1806; Fort Atkinson in 1819, and; Cabanne's Trading Post, built in 1822. The Mormons built a town called Cutler's Park in the area in 1846.

[edit] Native American history

Omaha's location near the confluence of the Missouri River and Platte River has long made the location a key point of transfer for both people and goods. Since the 1600's, the Pawnee, Otoe, Sioux, and Ioway all variously occupied the land that became Omaha. During the late 1700s and early 1800s when they were the most powerful Indians along the stretch of the Missouri River north of the Platte, and later the Omaha nation moved on the western edge of present-day Bellevue, Nebraska.

Prior to the establishment of the city, the area had been inhabited by numerous Indian tribes, who had adapted to a semi-nomadic lifestyle necessary for survival on the Great Plains. The Pawnee and Otoe tribes had inhabited the region for hundreds of years by the time the Omaha tribe had arrived from the south in the early 1700s. Translated, the word "Omaha" (actually U-Mo'n-Ho'n) means "Dwellers on the Bluff".^[2]. Usually the word for some reason is translated "against the current", but in those cases without quoting any source.

After a smallpox out-break, and their continued cultural degradation, disease, the elimination of the buffalo, and continued property loss the the Omaha sold the last of their claims and relocated to their present reservation north in Thurston County, Nebraska in 1856.

[edit] European settlement

On July 21, 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed by the riverbanks that would later become the city of Omaha. The expedition stopped at a point about 20 miles (30 km) north of present-day Omaha, at which point they first met with the Otoe, and had a council meeting with members of the tribal leadership on the west side of the Missouri River. A decade later, adventurers and fur traders were frequenting the region, trading at Fort Lisa, built by Manuel Lisa in 1806; Fort Atkinson, built in 1819 as a military outpost adjacent to the location of the earlier council meeting, and; Cabanne's Trading Post, built by the American Fur Company in 1822. The Mormons built a town called Cutler's Park in the area before resuming their westward migration on the Mormon Trail.

[edit] Founding and growth

In 1853 William Brown operated the Lone Tree Ferry to shuttle California Gold Rush prospectors and Oregon Trail settlers across the river between Kanesville, Iowa and the Nebraska Territory. The Lone Tree Ferry eventually became the Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry Company. "Omaha City" was organized by the owners of the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company to lure the proposed transcontinental railroad to Council Bluffs. Alfred Jones, Omaha City's first postmaster, platted the town site early in 1854, months after the Kansas-Nebraska Act created the Nebraska Territory.^[3]

The Ladies Axillary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a nationalistic Irish-Catholic fraternal organization, was founded in Omaha in 1894.

[edit] Nebraska Territory Capitol

Late in 1854 Omaha was chosen as the territorial capital for Nebraska. The small city suffered greatly in the economic Panic of 1857; however, the presence of the capital is credited for keeping the town alive. For several years Omaha enjoyed its status as the capitol of the Nebraska Territory, although not without contention. In January, 1858 a group of representatives illegally moved the Nebraska Territorial Legislature to Florence following a violent outburst at the State Capitol in Omaha. After repeatedly being dogged out of voting on the removal of the Capitol from Omaha, a skirmish pitted representatives from Nebraska City, Florence, and other communities to convene outside of Omaha. Despite having a majority of members present for the vote to remove the Capitol and all agreeing, the "Florence Legislature" did not succeed in swaying the Nebraska Territory governor, and the Capitol remained in Omaha until 1867 when Nebraska gained statehood.^[4] When Omaha eventually lost the capital to Lincoln in 1867, the city was by then strong enough to maintain economic growth for a period of time.

While Council Bluffs was chosen as the eastern terminus of the United States' first transcontinental railroad in 1862 with the passage of the Pacific Railway Act, construction on the railroad began west from Omaha to avoid the difficulties of constructing a bridge across the Missouri River, effectively ensuring that Omaha would become a major transportation center for the entire country in the years to come.

Omaha was the location of the 1892 convention which formed the Populist Party, with its aptly-titled Omaha Platform written by "radical farmers" from throughout the Midwest.

[edit] Late 1800s

Early settlements and towns in the area include Fontenelle's Post founded in 1806; Fort Lisa founded 1806; Culter's Park, founded 1846; Bellevue, settled in 1804 and founded 1853; Omaha, founded 1854; Benson, founded 1887, Chalco, founded ?; Dundee, founded 1880; East Omaha, founded 185?; Elkhorn, founded 1865; Florence, founded 1856; Papillion, founded 1870; Ralston, founded 1888; South Omaha, founded 1886; Millard, founded in 1871, and; Saratoga, founded 1857.

Omaha's growth was accelerated in the 1880s by the rapid development of the meat packing industry in South Omaha; in the 1880s, Omaha was the fastest-growing city in the United States. Thousands of immigrants from central and southern Europe, as well as African Americans moving from the South, came to Omaha to work in the stockyards and slaughterhouses, creating Omaha's original ethnic neighborhoods, located both in South and North Omaha.

The Trans-Mississippi Exposition was held in North Omaha from June 1 to November 1, 1898. The exposition drew over 2 million visitors and involved construction of attractions spanning over 100 city blocks including a shipworthy lagoon, bridges and magnificent (though temporary) buildings constructed of plaster and horsehair.

[edit] 1900-1949

The Omaha Omahogs was a baseball team started in 1900 as part of the new Western League. Their name changed to the Omaha Indians in 1902. In 1904 the team was fielded as the Omaha Packers, and in 1906 as the Omaha Rourkes. They kept that name until 1921, when the name changed to the Omaha Buffaloes, which stuck until 1928 when it changed to the Omaha Crickets. In 1930 the team changed its name back to the Omaha Packers, and kept that name until 1935, when they moved to Council Bluffs and subsequently folded. A new team called the Omaha Robin Hoods formed in 1936, but moved to Rock Island, Illinois late in the year. The team reformed shortly thereafter as the Omaha Cardinals, remaining as such for several years.

In 1909 a mob of 1,000 Omahans almost lynched a South Omaha Greek man for being involved with a "white" woman. After their efforts were thwarted, a mob of 2,000 swarmed upon Greek Town in South Omaha, destroying homes, businesses and a school, beating Greek immigrants, and completely destroying all of the area by burning it to the ground. No person was ever indited for a crime related to the incident.

Main article: Greeks in Omaha, Nebraska

In 1913 a devastating tornado ripped through Omaha, becoming known as the Easter Sunday tornado. It killed more than 100 people, destroyed hundreds of homes, and struck the heart of North Omaha's African American commericial district, which suffered the most damage. In July of that same year U.S. President Gerald Ford (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.) was born at 3202 Woolworth Avenue. He spent his first 16 days there, later growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Omaha Race Riot of 1919 occurred after a black man named Will Brown was arrested and accused of raping a white woman. A mob formed and removed him from the Douglas County Jail, on the top floor of the County Courthouse. Brown was hanged from the lamppost on the south side of the courthouse, his body was dismembered, burned and dragged through the streets by a crowd of European-born immigrants and European Americans. The mayor attempted to intervene and was hanged himself; he survived only in a last minute rescue by federal agents. The city courthouse was set on fire and seriously damaged. This incident was dramatized by playwright Max Spaber and produced by the Blue Barn Theatre in 1998 at the Douglas County Courthouse, the site of the riot.

Job's Daughters International, a Masonic youth organization for girls, was founded in Omaha in 1920. Aleph Zadik Aleph, the men's Order of B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, began in Omaha as a college fraternity in Omaha in 1923.

In 1925 Malcom X was born (as Malcolm Little) at 3446 Pinkney Street in North Omaha. His family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin when he was a year old after threats on their lives from the Ku Klux Klan.

In 1945 the Enola Gay and Bockscar were two of 536 B-29 Superfortresses manufactured at the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Factory (now Offutt Air Force Base)in suburban Bellevue near the end of World War II.

[edit] Civil Rights Movement

Civil rights activism in Omaha began in 1912 with the formation of a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It continued through the coming years under the local-grown influence of Whitney Young, George Wells Parker and Harry Haywood, as well as the leadership of Citizens Civic Committee for Civil Liberties (4CL), Creighton University's DePorres Club, and the student-led Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity (BANTU). Mainstream organizations including the Urban League of Nebraska also supported the movement. Their successes eventually led to the end of redlining and racist neighborhood covenants, as well as the implementation of a school integration plan.

Main article: Civil Rights Movement in Omaha, Nebraska

[edit] 1950-1999

In 1955 the Omaha Cardinals joined the AAA American Association, and thrived until the late 1950s. That team folded in 1959. In 1961-62 the Omaha Dodgers were the farm team for the L.A. Dodgers, and after six years without a professional team, the Omaha Royals started in 1969. They have continued since.

The 1960s saw the Omaha Stockyards become the world's largest livestock processing center, taking that distinction from Chicago's Union Stock Yards in the late 1950s. As improved truck and boxcar refrigeration capabilities encouraged the slaughtering process to move closer to feedlots, all centralized stockyard activity declined and the Omaha Stockyards were closed in 1999.

The Omaha Tornado of 1975 is another grim day in Omaha's past. An F4 tornado ripped through neighborhoods along 72nd Street on May 6, 1975, killing 3 and injuring 133. In terms of damage, it was the most costly tornado in American history to that date, with damage estimates between $250 million and $500 million. In January 1975, the city was paralyzed by a devastating blizzard which dumped several feet of snow on the city.

[edit] 2000-present: Demolition and redevelopment

Omaha demolished a downtown district of brick warehouses called "Jobbers Canyon" in 1988, which was once listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The delisting and demolition of Jobbers Canyon to make way for the campus headquarters of ConAgra Foods and the city's Heartland of America park constituted the greatest loss of protected buildings in the history of the National Register Program.

On August 20, 2001, Nebraska Methodist Health Systems demolished the Indian Hills Theater, a "super-Cinerama" movie theater containing the largest indoor screen of its type in the world. The location of the Indian Hills Theater now serves as a parking lot.

The downtown area has experienced a resurgence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with several billion dollars of new construction. The new developments include the Qwest Center Omaha arena/convention center complex, the Holland Performing Arts Center, the Gallup University campus, The River City Star riverboat landing, National Park Service Midwest Region headquarters, new high-rise headquarters towers for First National Bank of Omaha and Union Pacific Railroad and hundreds of condominium units. The First National Bank of Omaha tower is the tallest building between Denver and Minneapolis, including its direct rival to the south, Kansas City, passing its tallest by 1ft.

[edit] Historic landmarks

Main article: Landmarks in Omaha, Nebraska

See also: Landmarks in North Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha has numerous historic landmarks that date from before the city's founding. The site of Fort Lisa and Cabanne's Trading Post, both located in the city's far northside, were first occupied in the early 1800s. Landmarks from the mid-1800s include Culter's Park, or "Winter Quarters" located in Florence, and Fontenelle's Post located south of the city. Downtown is the location of historical plaques marking the first building in Omaha and the first burial, and historical landmarks in North Omaha number in the dozens, including the former town of Saratoga. South Omaha, Dundee and Benson also have numerous historical landmarks. Kountze Park was the site of the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition. Most of Omaha's early pioneers, including Nebraska Territory politicians, soldiers from Fort Omaha and the early African American American community was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in North Omaha.

[edit] Historic neighborhoods and suburbs

• Bellevue, the oldest settlement in Nebraska and the state's third largest city, is just south of Omaha in eastern Sarpy County.
• Benson is a neighborhood of north-central Omaha near 60th and Maple Streets; it was annexed in 1917.
• Boys Town is an incorporated village near 132nd and Dodge Streets and is home to the famous institution of the same name.
• Chalco is an unincorporated area southwest of Omaha in northern Sarpy County.
• Dundee is a neighborhood in central Omaha near 50th and Dodge Streets. Originally a separate city, Dundee was annexed by Omaha in 1915, but this annexation was fought until 1917.
• East Omaha was the first annexation to the city in 1854, and is home to Omaha's Carter Lake Park.
• Elkhorn is a residential neighborhood on the western edge of Omaha. Originally a separate city, Elkhorn was annexed by Omaha on March 8, 2005. After a two-year court battle, the annexation was upheld by a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling on January 12, 2007.^[5], and Elkhorn became part of Omaha on March 1, 2007. The original town site is near 204th St. and West Maple Road.
• Florence is a neighborhood in far north Omaha. The original Mormon settlement in Florence (1846) predates the city of Omaha; it was annexed in 1917.
• La Vista is a city south of Omaha in north-central Sarpy County.
• Millard is a broad area of southwest Omaha; originally a separate city, Omaha annexed it in 1971. The original town site is near 132nd and Q Streets.
• North Omaha is a racially-diverse area north of downtown Omaha with a rich historical social, cultural, economic, architectural, and religious legacy, particularly for the city's African American population.
• The Old Market is a district in downtown Omaha that historically housed Omaha's fresh food vendors.
• Papillion is a city south of Omaha and immediately south of La Vista. It is the county seat of Sarpy County.
• Ralston is a city in south-central Douglas County roughly bounded by 72nd, 84th, L, and Harrison Streets. It is surrounded by Omaha on three sides. The other side borders with La Vista, Nebraska.
• Saratoga is a historic neighborhood in North Omaha. The town was founded, boomed and busted within one year (1856-57). Its legacy includes a school, library and businesses still in the area.
• South Omaha is a neighborhood south of downtown Omaha. Formerly a separate city, it was annexed in 1915.

[edit] See also

• List of Registered Historic Places in Nebraska#Douglas County
• History of North Omaha, Nebraska
• Timeline of North Omaha, Nebraska history
• Education in Omaha, Nebraska
• Notable natives of Omaha, Nebraska
• List of lists about Omaha, Nebraska
• Timeline of Racial Tension in Omaha, Nebraska

[edit] References

1. ^ *John Joseph Mathews, The Osages: Children of the Middle Waters (University of Oklahoma Press 1961), pages 110, 128, 140, 282
2. ^ *John Joseph Mathews, page 282
3. ^ Reeves, R. (n.d.) Douglas County History University of Nebraska.
4. ^ Bristow, D. (1997) A Dirty, Wicked Town: Tale of 19th Century Omaha. Caxton Press.
5. ^ City of Elkhorn V. City of Omaha (2007-01-12). Retrieved on 2007-01-12.