History of North Omaha, Nebraska

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Contents 1 Pre-European history 2 Mid-19th century 2.1 Early towns 3 Late 19th century 4 20th century 5 Historical residences 5.1 Racism in housing 6 Racial tension 7 Historical architecture 8 Historical government 8.1 Historical transportation 8.2 Historical military presence 8.3 Libraries 9 Civil rights movement in North Omaha 10 Notable figures from North Omaha 11 See also 12 References 13 Bibliography 14 External links

The history of North Omaha, Nebraska includes wildcat banks, ethnic enclaves, race riots and social change spanning over 200 years. With a recorded history that pre-dates the rest of Omaha, Nebraska, North Omaha has roots back to 1806 with the founding of Fort Lisa. It includes the settlement of Cutler's Park in 1846, lynchings around the turn of the century, the thriving 24th Street community of the 1920s, the bustling development of the African American community through the 1950s, a series of riots in the 1960s, and redevelopment in the late 20th and early 21st century.

[edit] Pre-European history

Bands from the Pawnee, Otoe and Sioux nations were the first to occupy the area around Carter Lake. After a short period in the late 1700s and early 1800s when they were the most powerful Indians on the Great Plains, the Omaha nation through the vicinity of present-day East Omaha. After a smallpox breakout killed much of its population, and with the wholesale elimination of their historical way of life, the Omaha sold their lands and moved to their present reservation to the north in Thurston County, Nebraska in 1856.

[edit] Mid-19th century

The first settlements in North Omaha were the 1806 Fort Lisa located near Hummel Park and the 1823 Cabanne's Trading Post along the Missouri River. Fort Lisa was built by famed fur trapper Manuel Lisa, and was an important fur trading post for securing initial American investment in the Louisiana Territory. Cabanne's Trading Post belonged to the American Fur Company, which competed with many traders for the patronage of local Native American tribes. The American Fur Company was also responsible for Fontenelle's Post, which precipitated the founding of Bellevue, the first town in Nebraska.

[edit] Early towns

Founded in 1846, Cutler's Park was established as a hold-over for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pioneers who were on their way from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City, Utah. Over 800 shelters were built at a settlement, which also included a store, bank and town square. The town effectively ceased to exist in 1848, when the entire population continued their trek west. In 1854 James C. Mitchell bought the sight and founded Florence, which was incorporated two years later. The town was an important stocking point for settlers heading west on the California Trail. The early town included banks, a post office, a large mill, several bars, and other important businesses. Today the Bank of Florence is recognized as the oldest building in Omaha, and it is believed that Brigham Young helped build the Florence Mill. Annexed into Omaha in 1917, today the community is at the far north end of North Omaha.

South of Florence was a town founded in 1856 for speculators from New York. The Town of Saratoga was located in the proximity of North 24th Street and Ames Avenue. Its economy relied on its connection to the Saratoga Bend on the Missouri River, less than one mile away. At its peak the town had its own post office, a hotel and several businesses, including its own brewery, along more than 60 homes. For a few years it was regarded as being larger than either of its neighboring towns of Omaha City or Florence. In between Saratoga and Florence was a wide, smooth plain. In the mid-1850s a large enclave of Irish immigrants built dugouts and sod houses in this area, which was derisively labeled, "Gophertown." A small violent skirmish happened between the residents of Florence and Gophertown in 1856; however, nothing came of the events.^[1]

Scriptown was an area of North Omaha bound by 16th street on the east, 24th on the west, and Lake Street to the north. It was originally platted in 1855 to provide land to Nebraska Territory legislators who voted for Nebraska statehood. Consequently, the area was developed quickly, and included a number of prominent homes.^[2] From its development following the Scriptown platting, North Omaha was the dominion of a mixed European immigrant community that mingled extensively with the African American community. The Jewish community in the area was rich, with several synagogues the provided social and cultural activities. The B'nai Jacob Synagogue was located at North 25th and Nicholas Streets; the B'nai Israel Synagogue was at North 18th and Chicago Streets; and the Adass Yeshuren Synagogue was at North 25th and Seward Streets. There are several Jewish cemeteries in the area, as well.^[3]

Other early communities in the area included Casey's Row, an early community of housing for African American families, most of whom were employed as porters,^[4] and Squatter's Row, which was located between North 11th and North 13th Streets, from Nicholas to Locust Streets, behind the Storz Brewery. For more than 75 years this area was inhabited solely by squatters.^[5]

[edit] Late 19th century

The rest of the area comprising modern-day North Omaha developed in spurts. The Near North Side, closest to downtown, developed quickly in this period with many homes for working-class African American and European immigrant families.

Early businesses and housing were propelled by the introduction of a horse-driven street railroad in the 1870s, and electrical streetcar lines operated in North Omaha until 1955^[6]. Many early businesses in North Omaha were established by Jewish immigrants,^[7] who became part of the larger community of successful business people who built downtown Omaha. In 1875 the Omaha Driving Park Association purchased a parcel of land located between Laird and Boyd Streets, and 16th to 20th Streets for horse racing, specifically, trotters. A fair association leased it, added some features, and held the Douglas County Fair and the Nebraska State Fair there for many years. The park fell into disuse by 1899; there is a report that this area was re-opened as Sunset Driving Park in 1904.^[8]

During this period early Omaha banker Herman Kountze owned a large parcel of land in North Omaha, which he platted as a subdivision called Kountze Place. On May 17, 1883, Buffalo Bill founded his famous Wild West, Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition in that area, making its first appearance at the aforementioned Omaha Driving Park^[9]. More than 8,000 people attended the first exhibition at a location near 18th and Sprague Streets. Buffalo Bill's Wild West later returned to North Omaha for the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1898.^[10] Held in conjunction with the Expo, the Indian Congress drew more than 500 American Indians representing 35 tribes to the area, as well. Kountze Place developed after the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, with developments including large homes and several mansions built around the Expo's only remanant, Kountze Park. Lake Nakoma, now known as Carter Lake, was a hotbed of local sporting in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The surrounding park was home to sailing events, rowing clubs, Bungalow City, and the Omaha Gun Club.^[11] Miller Park was an early site for golfing and boating, and Kountze Park featured several outdoor activities, as well.

Also in the late 1800s, many European Jewish immigrants became involved in the Progessive and socialist movements of the early twentieth century; some were labor organizers in the meatpacking industry. Catholic parishes grew extensively throughout the area new Irish and German immigrant families.^[12]. The importance of several arterial streets was confirmed in a prominent business journal in 1890, that noted, "North Sixteenth, Cuming and North Twenty-fourth streets on the north and northwest are... prominent business streets, radiating from the commercial center into the resident portions of the city."^[13] Activities in North Omaha, particularly the locating of the Nebraska State Fair at the Omaha Driving Park, led to the formation of Ak-Sar-Ben in 1895^[14].

The Idlewild Pool Hall at 2307 North 24th Street was the scene of the greatest loss of life. The owner, C. W. Dillard, and 13 customers were killed as they tried to take shelter on the south side of the pool hall’s basement. The victims were crushed by falling debris or overcome by smoke from fires begun when wood stoves used for heating overturned. North 24th Street was laid waste. The victims were removed to the Webster Telephone Exchange Building.^[15] The building was a central headquarters as the community recovered. Operators went to work despite the building missing all of its windows.^[16]

[edit] 20th century

North Omaha has suffered in severe Plains weather. In 1902 a major early spring storm demolished a lot of the neighborhood in the Monmouth Park neighborhood. The tornado-like activity destroyed the original Immanuel Hospital and closed North Omaha's Franklin School.^[17] The most significant weather-related event to hit Omaha was the Easter Sunday tornado of 1913 that destroyed many of the area's businesses and neighborhoods. It cut a path of destruction through the city that was seven miles long and a quarter of a mile wide. In the city as a whole, 140 people died and 400 were injured. Twenty-three hundred people were homeless; with 800 houses destroyed and 2000 damaged. ^[18]

Starting with the development of the Minne Lusa neighborhood in the 1910s the area near Florence became home to an almost exclusively Scandinavian immigrant community. With a variety of churches and social clubs, the neighborhood was the cultural center for many of North Omaha's working class and middle-class whites. The African-American community culture in North Omaha was anchored by its blues and jazz legacy, the Omaha Star newspaper, and the community's churches. The North Omaha Business Men's Association made numerous contributions to Omaha commerce, culture, and education. The group was responsible for developing a new athletic field at Omaha University in 1928.^[19]

Recruited for jobs by the meatpacking industry, African American migrants doubled their population in Omaha between 1910 and 1920. As they got more established, African Americans began to protest the industry's job practices, which kept them limited to lower paying jobs. In the 1930s and 40s the black community fought against the segregated practices of the meatpacking plants and won. From the early 1930s through the 1950s, the Reed Ice Cream Company operated 63 small "ice cream bungalows" that distributed their ice cream across Omaha, including dozens in North Omaha. One of the bungalows was located 620 N. 40th Street. Organized in 1929 by Claude Reed, the company plant was located at 3106 N 24th Street. The company sold ice cream in Omaha and Council Bluffs, with a volume of up to 22,000 cones a day. By 1955 there were a few commercial buildings along Ames Avenue and North 30th Street. Two businesses along North 30th Street included the Wax Paper Products Company and the Independent Biscuit Company.^[20] Changes started to affect the neighborhood in the late 1960s, with the racial and economic demographics rapidly changing in the 1990s and still today. Other businesses in North Omaha included the Vercruysse Dairy, located on the southwest corner of North 52nd Street and Ames Avenue, the Omaha Safe Deposit and Trust Company, and the J.F. Smith Brickyard located on North 30th Street.

Other historically significant businesses included the Storz Brewery, which was located at the corners of Sherman Avenue (also called 16th Street) and Clark Street and finished in 1894. The Storz Brewery was 600 feet tall and had a capacity of 150,000 barrels a year, making it one of the largest breweries in the region. The entire facility occupied more than 15 buildings with red-tiled floors and walls, burnished stainless steel and copper fixtures^[21].

In the 1940s, North Omaha was the home to the African American players of the Omaha Rockets independent baseball team. The team played exhibition games against Negro League teams from across the U.S., and was the home of several important players.^[22][23] In 1947 there were 15,000 people working in the meatpacking industry in Omaha. In the 1950s, black members of the United Packinghouse Workers used their economic and political strength to demand that Omaha's bars, restaurants, and other establishments halt segregationist restrictions. As the packing industry changed in the 1960s and moved operations closer to the meat producers, Omaha lost 10,000 jobs. This meant a loss of political power as well for African Americans. Although new meat packers have opened some new operations in Omaha, unionization has dropped sharply in the two decades after 1980, and African Americans have gained few of the new jobs.^[24]

[edit] Historical residences

Main article: Neighborhoods in North Omaha, Nebraska

North Omaha's earliest homes were built in the Florence area soon after Winter Quarters were disassembled. Its first identification as a distinct bedroom suburb of Omaha occurred in the early 1870s, when professionals who worked in downtown Omaha built their homes a mile north of downtown Omaha^[25],^[26]. For many years it was home to several prominent Omaha families, businesses, and organizations^[27], and in 1887 North Omaha was annexed to the city of Omaha^[28]. Early north Omaha residential developments were mostly occupied by European immigrants from Ireland and Eastern Europe, as evidenced by the construction of the churches where they worshiped, such as Holy Family Church on North 18th and Izard Streets.^[29]

West Central-Cathedral Landmark Heritage District developed around the Academy of the Sacred Heart, opened in 1882, and St. Cecilia Cathedral. This primarily residential district, the heart of which lies along both sides of North 38th Street, is the northern portion of what is known as the Gold Coast.^[30]

North Omaha was the site of several federal housing projects, first built in the 1930s as no-cost or low-cost housing for Eastern European immigrants. The demographics of these locations changed, and by the late 1960s they were inhabited almost entirely by poor and low-income African Americans. By the early 2000s each of these facilities, including the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects, were torn down and replaced with other public housing schemes. The area of far North Omaha from Ames Avenue north was not commonly acknowledged as an incorporated part of the city until after World War II, when a housing boom filled in many communities throughout the area^[31]

[edit] Racism in housing

Further information: African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska

After the 1919 Omaha Race Riots the city was gripped by racism, and began enforcing race-restrictive covenants. Properties for rent and sale were restricted on the basis of race, with the primary intent of keeping North Omaha "black" and the rest of the city "white". These agreements were held in place with redlining^[32], which was a system of segregated insuring and lending reinforced by the federal government. These restrictions were ruled illegal in 1940.

Boyd and Taylor Streets and North 30th Street between Manderson and Bedford are reported to have developed in the 1920s. Harry Buford was a well-to-do member of North Omaha's African American community with a large home built in 1929 at 1804 North 30th Street. According to one report, "The location of the family home on the west side of North 30th Street indicated the status of the Buford family in Omaha during a period of racial segregation."^[33] These types of differentiations according to socioeconomic and racial boundaries where prevalent throughout the North Omaha area.

In an effort to improve working class housing in North Omaha during the Depression, in the 1930s the Federal government built the Logan-Fontenelle projects, which housed up to 2100 people in 556 apartments. The development was similar to a project of public housing on the South Side of Omaha. Every street was landscaped with trees. Originally the housing was intended to be temporary, for working people. With later losses of jobs, more people who were unemployed lived in the projects. It became heavily segregated as well and suffered from a concentration of families with difficulties.

[edit] Racial tension

Main article: Racial Tension in Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha's African American residents were largely spread throughout the small city from its founding through the 1900s. In 1891 a white mob lynched an African American man named George Smith^[34]. However, in the first few decades of the new century, increasing numbers of immigrants and migrants, and competition for jobs and housing, prompted eruptions of racial violence.

Nearly 30 years later, in 1919, a year of unrest in several major cities, another white mob terrorized the city's African American population. They began by dragging Will Brown from his jail cell. He was beaten and lynched. After the mob was done with Brown's corpse, they attacked property and other African Americans in Omaha. Their efforts were thwarted, however, by soldiers from Fort Omaha who created a boundary around African American neighborhoods.^[35] Riots, skirmishes with local police, and a bombing in the mid- to late-20th century demonstrated racial tensions had not been fully resolved.

[edit] Historical architecture

Main article: Architecture in North Omaha, Nebraska

Further information: Landmarks in North Omaha, Nebraska

Early North Omaha buildings and homes were characterized by their modest purposes. An example of such simplicity is located in the four-square-style houses located at N 38th Street and Glenwood Avenue. Craftsman and Craftsman-style bungalows were also popular in more affluent areas.^[36] According to one report, "many neighborhoods generally consist of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century vernacular and period revival style houses, commercial, educational, and religious resources, and concentrations of post-World War II housing and public housing."^[37]

Due to its exceptionally diverse history, particularly in respect to the rest of Nebraska, North Omaha is home to numerous historical and modern landmarks, listed on the Registered Historic Places within its boundaries.

[edit] Historical government

[edit] Historical transportation

An early horse-drawn coach ran from Florence to Saratoga into Omaha from the 1860s through 1890s. Around that time horse-drawn trolleys replaced these coaches, which were then replaced with electrical street cars. North Omaha was the location of at least four street car lines that ran along 16th, 20th, 24th and 30th Streets, north and south from downtown Omaha.

There were several railroad tracks in North Omaha, including those along Sorenson Parkway and parallel to 24th Street.^[38] The Webster Street Depot was located at 15th and Webster Streets, and the Florence Depot was on North 30th Street in Florence.

From at least before 1926, Nebraska Highway 5 used to run down N. 20th Street, jogging east on Ohio Street, and then along 16th. By 1931 this was replaced by N. 30th Street, which was designated as US 73. In 1984 US 73 was replaced by US 75, which maintains its position along N. 30th Street today.^[39] Between 1978 and 1980 a new freeway was built from I-480 north to Lake St, called I-580. This status was revoked when the State of Nebraska refused to upgrade the roadway to Interstate specifications, and the roadway is currently called the North Omaha Freeway.

[edit] Historical military presence

In 1878 Fort Omaha became the Headquarters for the Department of the Platte, covering territory that stretched from the Missouri River into Montana and from Canada to Texas. It was a supply fort, rather than a defense fort, that provided assistance for the Indian Wars, World War I, and World War II. Fort Omaha is best known for its role in the 1879 landmark trial of Ponca chief Standing Bear. Originally known as Omaha Barracks, the frame buildings of the post surrounded and faced a rectangular parade ground. On the level ground on the east side were the post headquarters, guardhouse, bakery, storehouses and sutlers store. Ten single-story barracks were constructed to accommodate an equal number of companies, ten being the number of companies which then comprised a regiment. Five of the barracks were on the north end of the parade ground and the other five on the south end^[40]. The hospital was built northwest of the north barracks. Most of these buildings still stand at the intersections of 30th and Fort Streets.

The Fort Omaha Balloon School was the first such military school in America, and was located in North Omaha. After the United States entered the war on April 6, 1917, operations increased to the extent that a sub-post was needed to accommodate men and the maneuvering balloons. "Florence Field," about a mile north of the fort, consisting of 119 acres, was acquired for this purpose.^[41]

The troops at Fort Omaha were responsible for restoring order to the city after the Omaha Race Riot of 1919.

[edit] Libraries

In 1921 the city opened the North Branch Church Library at 25th and Ames. The location has been moved twice since, and the library has been renamed the Charles B. Washington Branch.^[42]

[edit] Civil rights movement in North Omaha

North Omaha has a legacy of political activism stemming from within the African American community. Starting in the 1920s the community was home to organizations seeking equal rights for African Americans. During the 1960s popular locations in North Omaha for community activists to gather included the Fair Deal Cafe on 24th Street and Goodwin’s Spencer Street Barbershop at 3116 N. 24th Street, where young Ernie Chambers was a barber. The movement continues to be represented by Senator Chambers, and continues in the community today.

See also: Civil Rights Movement in Omaha, Nebraska

[edit] Notable figures from North Omaha

North Omaha has been the birthplace and home of many figures of national and local import. They include Malcolm X, Whitney Young, an important civil rights leader, the storied Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers, actor John Beasley, and author Tillie Olsen. Singer Wynonie Harris, saxaphonist Preston Love and Buddy Miles all have called North Omaha home. Businesswoman Cathy Hughes is from North Omaha. The community has also several birthed several sports stars, including baseball player Bob Gibson, football player Johnny Rodgers,", actress Gabrielle Union, actor John Beasley, Houston Texans running back Ahman Green, and basketball player Bob Boozer.

Main article: People from North Omaha

[edit] See also

• North Omaha, Nebraska
• Timeline of North Omaha, Nebraska history
• Landmarks in North Omaha, Nebraska
• Timeline of Racial Tension in Omaha, Nebraska
• List of articles related to North Omaha, Nebraska

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Unknown. (1987) Boom and Bust on the Frontier: North Omaha's Story. Omaha Public Library.
• Bish, James D. (1989) The Black Experience in Selected Nebraska Counties, 1854-1920. M.A. Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha.
• (n.d) History of North High School
• Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. (1984) Patterns on the Landscape, Heritage Conservation in North Omaha. City of Omaha Planning Department.
• A Time for Burning, 60 minutes, VHS/DVD. A 1966 award-winning documentary about race relations in Omaha. Features State Sen. Ernie Chambers as a young man.
• A Street of Dreams, 58 minutes, VHS. Great Plains National Instructional TV 1994. Documents the history of North Omaha's African American and Jewish community on North 24th Street, which flourished in the 1920s.
• (2005) A Rich Music History Long Untold, The Omaha Reader. - Describes Omaha's influence on many genres of music, including jazz, blues, soul, R&B, and rock.
• Mihelich, Dennis. (1979) "World War II and the Transformation of the Omaha Urban League," Nebraska History 60(3) (Fall 1979):401-423.
• Paz, D.G. (1988) "John Albert Williams and Black Journalism in Omaha, 1895-1929." Midwest Review 10: 14-32.
• (2003) The Negroes of Nebraska: The Negro Comes to Nebraska. CFC Productions.</ref>
• Wilhite, A. (1970) The Saratoga Story, Inflated Beginnings. - Omaha History Society
• Finlayson, A.J. (1978) The Mysterious Disappearance of Saratoga.

[edit] External links

• BlackPast.org - A website featuring much history from North Omaha.
• Historical Florence website

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