| Irvington | |
|---|---|
| — Unincorporated Township — | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nebraska |
| Douglas | Douglas |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.6 sq mi (14.5 km2) |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 451 |
Irvington is an unincorporated community located just outside the northwest city limits of Omaha, Nebraska.[1] According to the 2009 estimate by the United States Census Bureau Irvington's population was 451, making it the smallest village in the Greater Omaha Metropolitan area, according to the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Located in Douglas County, Nebraska's Union Precinct, Irvington had established a post office by 1882, the year Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska was published. According to the same text, farmers and stock-raisers began settling in the area as early as 1856.[2] The community later became a Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad depot location between Omaha and Arlington, Nebraska, a line that opened in 1887.[3]
In 1934, a local surveyor employed by the Union Pacific, William Irvine,[4] recommended the area for a Union Pacific storage facility. This was met with some resistance, until it was determined that the local geography and several natural land barriers made the area ideal for development. It was in fact the area's immediate proximity to the Pappio Creek which led many original residents to refer to it as Pappio.[5] The area was then used as a sundries depot for the Union Pacific, and several other small businesses opened in the area that serviced the local farming community and surrounding area. In 1965 local residents led by William Ray Stevens, Irvine's nephew, voted to incorporate and a name change was proposed, but this was rejected. Expansion and annexation by greater Omaha has all but caused the disappearance of almost all cultural and historical entities, and it now is represented by a few small retail shops and rural homes.