- Timeline of North Omaha, Nebraska history
Significant events in the history of
North Omaha, Nebraska include thePawnee ,Otoe andSioux nations; the African American community; Irish, Czech, and other European immigrants, and; several other populations. Several important settlements and towns were built in the area, as well as important social events that shaped the future of Omaha and the history of the nation. The timeline of North Omaha history extends to present, including recent controversy over schools.Historical timeline
Pre-1850
*Pre-1800s Bands from the
Pawnee ,Otoe andSioux nations alternatively occupy the land now comprising North Omaha as hunting area
*Early 1800s Omaha nation uses the land now comprising North Omaha as hunting area
*1804 Between August 3 and August 20, theLewis and Clark Expedition traveled along the banks of the Missouri and camped in North Omaha nearDodge Park . There is speculation that Clark traveled in the area, possibly to the Belvedere Point Lookout. [ [http://www.historicflorence.org/HistoricMarkers/BelvederePointLookout.htm Description and location of Belvedere Point Lookout] ]
*1812Manuel Lisa buildsFort Lisa north of Omaha and helps sway local tribes to support the US in theWar of 1812 .
*1819 The firststeamboat to ply Nebraskan waters, the "Western Engineer", arrives at Fort Lisa. [(1904) [http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/SCHofNE/ Semi-Centennial History of Nebraska - 1904] . Retrieved 8/6/08.]
*1824Cabanne's Trading Post established in far North Omaha for theAmerican Fur Company owned byJohn Jacob Astor .
*1846Winter Quarters established in present-day Florence as a hold-over ofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on their way from Nauvoo toUtah . 359 die and are buried in what is now called theMormon Pioneer Cemetery . This area was the first city in theNebraska Territory , calledCulter's Park by its 2500 residents. Although it only existed for two years, the city had a mayor and city council, 24 policemen and fireguards, various administrative committees, and a town square for public meetings. [(n.d.) [http://www.historicflorence.org/HistoricMarkers/CutlersParkMarker.htm Historic Florence - Culter's Park Marker] ]1851-1900
*1855 Florence makes a bid to become the Nebraska State Capitol, but loses to Omaha. [Reeves, R. [http://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/douglas/omaha/ Douglas County History] University of Nebraska.]
*1855Scriptown is platted for legislators in the Nebraska Territorial Legislature. [(1898) [http://www.rootsweb.com/~neresour/andreas/douglas/douglas-p4.html Andreas' History of Nebraska] . Retrieved 6/7/07.]
*1856 The town of Saratoga is founded within today's North Omaha.
*1856Prospect Hill Cemetery was set out in a plat byMoses F. Shinn . [ [http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/douglas/douglas-p5.html Douglas County] . "Andreas' history of Nebraska." Retrieved 8/11/07.]
*1856 East Omaha is annexed to Omaha.
*1863 Brownell Hall is founded at the location of present-day North 24th and Grand Streets.
*1863 The Storz Brewery is founded along North 16th Street.
*1865 The oldest African American congregation in Nebraska,St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church , is founded in North Omaha. [(2003) [http://www.memoriallibrary.com/NE/Ethnic/Negro/church.htm The Negroes of Nebraska: The Negro goes to church.] Memorial Library. Retrieved 7/14/07.]
*1868 Nebraska's first high school graduates come from Brownell Hall in North Omaha.
*1868 The Sherman Barracks are built in the location of present-day North Omaha.
*1875 A farmhouse is built along present-day North 24th Street that is eventually expanded into theRedick Mansion . [Gerber, K. and Spencer, J.C. (2003) "Building for the Ages: Omaha's Architectural Landmarks." Omaha, NE: Landmarks, Inc. p 14.]
*1875 Purchased by the Omaha Driving Park Association, theOmaha Driving Park was the original site of the Douglas County Fair starting in 1858.
*1877 The Saratoga Bend is "cut off" from the Missouri River by a flood, forming what originally called Cutoff Lake. Vacation cabins on the east side of the lake eventually become the town ofCarter Lake, Iowa .
*1878 The Sherman Barracks are renamedFort Omaha by the US government.
*1879 General Crook House completed at Fort Omaha.
*1879 The first acknowledgment of Native Americans' human rights by the US Government occurs during the trial of "Standing Bear v. Crook ".
*1883Buffalo Bill founds the Wild West, Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition in North Omaha.
*1883 The Kountze Place neighborhood was formed.
*1883 Holy Family Catholic Church is built at the intersections of 18th and Izard Streets.
*1887 Saratoga was annexed into Omaha. [ [http://www2.ops.org/OOE/annexation.htm "Annexation-Growth Page,"] Omaha Public Schools. Retrieved 7/16/07.]
*1887 The area that became the Bemis Park neighborhood was annexed into Omaha.
*1887 The Kountze Place neighborhood is annexed into Omaha.
*1887 TheJohn P. Bay House is built at North 20th and Binney Streets.
*1889 The Orchard Hill neighborhood is established. [ [http://www.urbanstudies.unomaha.edu/OrchardHill/ohhistory.htm "Neighborhood history"] , Urban Studies Department,University of Nebraska at Omaha . Retrieved 8/22/08.]
*1889 The Bemis Park neighborhood is platted.
*1889 The new Gold Coast neighborhood is platted.
*1889 Kountze Park is accepted as a gift fromAugustus Kountze to the City of Omaha.
*1890 Cutoff Lake was renamed Carter Lake and the city of Omaha formedLevi Carter Park .
*1891 African AmericanGeorge Smith lynched in North Omaha for "leering at a white woman."
*1891 TheOmaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary is founded at 3303 North 21st Place.
*1892 Dr.Matthew Ricketts , a physician in North Omaha, is the first African American man elected to theNebraska State Legislature . [(n.d.) [http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/aa_Vignettes/ricketts_matthew.htm Vignette: Matthew Ricketts] University of Washington.]
*1897 Future political writer and activistGeorge Wells Parker begins attendingCreighton University , later rallying African Americans in theHamitic League of the World .
*1897 The Sherman, one of the first apartment buildings in Omaha, is completed along North 16th Street.
*1898 TheTrans-Mississippi Exposition was held in north Omaha from June 1 to October 31, 1898. Its ornate grounds were created to highlight the economic, cultural and artistic achievements of the individuals who lived in the Midwest. All of the buildings, which housed over 5000 exhibits, were built as temporary structures. [(n.d.) " [http://www2.ops.org/OOE/govern3.htm When the World Came to Omaha] ."] Today there is a monument in North Omaha's Kountze Park, the former site of the exposition.
*1898 Protesters in theWalnut Hill suburb of North Omaha take over several streetcars in their neighborhood to protest poor public transportation conditions. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A03E4D71438E433A2575AC1A9679D94699ED7CF "Against crowding cars: Members of an Omaha Association Take a Firm Stand"] , "The New York Times." November 19, 1898. Retrieved 4/21/08.]
*1899 The Greater America Exposition held on the same site with many of the same features at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition.1901-1950
*1902 The Sacred Heart Catholic Church is completed at 22nd and Binney Streets.
*1903 Dr. Ricketts leaves Omaha, andJack Broomfield , owner of a notorious saloon indowntown Omaha , becomes the defacto political leader of Omaha's African American community.
*1903 TheGeorge F. Shepard House is completed at North 18th and Wirt Streets.
*1904 TheGeorge H. Kelly House is completed at North 19th and Binney Streets.
*1907 TheWebster Telephone Exchange Building is built by the Nebraska Telephone Company at 22nd and Lake Streets.
*1908 TheUS Army Signal Corps is established at the Fort Omaha Balloon School.
*1908Omaha University is founded in the Redick Mansion at North 24th and Pratt Streets.
*1909 TheCharles Storz House is built at North 19th and Wirt Streets.
*1910Gifford Park is platted.
*1910 Boxer Jack Johnson wins an upset title match inReno, Nevada , setting off riots across the U.S.. In Omaha white mobs prowl North Omaha looking for blacks to victimize, wounding several and killing one. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9A0CE5DD1E39E333A25756C0A9619C946196D6CF&oref=login "Omaha negro killed"] , "The New York Times." July 5, 1910. Retrieved 4/20/08.]
*1910 North Presbyterian Church is built along North 24th Street.
*1910 TheLizzie Robinson House is built at 28th and Corby Streets.
*1912 Local chapter of NAACP founded.
*1913 TheZion Baptist Church , designed by future master architectClarence W. Wigington , is completed.
*1913 Renowned Jewish authorTillie Olsen moves to North Omaha's Jewish community as a young child.
*1913Easter Sunday tornado kills dozens and destroys countless blocks of North Omaha.
*1913 Bandleader and vocalistAnna Mae Winburn is born in North Omaha.
*1913 TheGeorge F. Shepard House is completed at North 18th and Wirt Streets.
*1913 Clarence Wigington's award-winning design for theBroomfield Rowhouse is completed at North 25th and Lake Streets.
*1914 NotedHarlem Renaissance writerWallace Thurman completesgrammar school in North Omaha.
*1915 TheLincoln Motion Picture Company was founded in North Omaha to produce black films. [(2007) [http://www.blackpast.org/?q=timelines/african-american-history-american-west-timeline African American History in the American West: Timeline.] University of Washington.]
*1917 Florence is annexed by the City of Omaha. [Reeves, R. (n.d.) [http://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/douglas/omaha/ Douglas County History] University of Nebraska.]
*1917 Redick Mansion is demolished.
*1919 Rioters lynch Will Brown and pillage North Omaha during theOmaha Race Riot of 1919 .
*1919 The first African American pilot from North Omaha, future Tuskegee AirmanAlfonza W. Davis , is born in North Omaha.
*1920s First wave ofwhite flight from near North Omaha following the riots, with whites leaving the area en masse from Cuming north to Kountze.
*1920s Earl Little founded Omaha chapter ofUNIA .
*1921 Noted songwriter, bandleader and saxophonistPreston Love is born in Omaha.
*1923 The third high school in Omaha, Technical High School, is opened.
*1923 TheJewell Building is completed.
*1925Malcom X born in North Omaha.
*1928 Omaha chapter of theUrban League is formed.
*1929 TheHarry Buford House , later listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is completed along North 30th Street.
*1930s Midwesternterritorial band Cotton Club Boys are formed in North Omaha.
*1930s Renowned bandleaderRed Perkins moves to North Omaha.
*1934 Renowned bandleaderNat Towles takes up residence in North Omaha.
*1938 TheLogan Fontenelle Housing Project is built at 20th and Paul Streets.
*1938 Omaha University moves from North Omaha.
*1938 "The Omaha Star ", the only African American newspaper in Nebraska, is founded at 2216 North 24th Street.
*1943 The Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary was permanently closed.
*1947DePorres Club starts campaign for nonviolent social change against racial discrimination in North Omaha.
*1947 Future business leaderCathy Hughes is born toHelen Jones Woods .
*1950Whitney Young becomes the president of theUrban League in North Omaha.1951-2000
*1954 The North Presbyterian Church is racially integrated and renamed
Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church .
*1958Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visits North Omaha.
*1961 Trumpeter and big band leaderLloyd Hunter died in North Omaha.
*1960s Second wave of white flight from further North Omaha as whites begin to leave the area en masse from Kountze to Miller ParkFact|date=March 2007.
*1962 Community leaderBertha Calloway founded theNegro Historical Society .
*1966 The documentary "A Time for Burning " is released and nominated for anAcademy Award .
*1966 On July 5 the National Guard is called to quell two days of rioting among African Americans in North Omaha. [(n.d.) [http://www.blackfacts.com/fact.asp?ID=567 National Guard Mobilized in North Omaha] . "Black Facts Online".]
*1968 Riots erupt in North Omaha in response to assassination ofRev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. .
*1968Robert Kennedy visits Omaha in his quest to become president.
*1969 Riots erupt on June 24 after an Omaha police officer fatally shoots teenager Vivian Strong in theLogan Fontenelle Housing Projects . [(n.d.) [http://www.thereader.com/art.php?subaction=showfull&id=1161277926&archive=&start_from=&ucat=11& Distilled in Black and White] "Omaha Reader".]
*1970 On August 17 a bombing occurs at a house at 2867 Ohio Street, killing one policeman.Black Panther members are implicated, leading to theRice/Poindexter Case .
*1970s TheNorth Omaha Freeway is constructed, thereby splitting North Omaha in half with severe negative impacts on the community.
*1972 The Storz Brewery closes permanently.
*1976Native Omaha Days is celebrated for the first time.
*1976 Bertha Calloway opens theGreat Plains Black History Museum in the Webster Telephone Exchange Building.
*1990s Third wave of "white flight" from far North Omaha as whites move en masse from Redick north to Craig Street,Fact|date=March 2007 the informal dividing line between North Omaha and Florence.2000-Present
*2004
Preston Love died in North Omaha.
*2006 SenatorErnie Chambers forwards a bill through theNebraska State Legislature to divideOmaha Public Schools along racial lines.ee also
*
North Omaha, Nebraska
*History of North Omaha, Nebraska
*Landmarks in North Omaha, Nebraska
*Timeline of Racial Tension in Omaha, Nebraska References
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