Bellevue, Nebraska

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Bellevue, Nebraska
settlement_type = City
nickname =
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Bellevue, Nebraska


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Nebraska
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Sarpy
government_footnotes =
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leader_title =
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unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 34.7
area_land_km2 = 34.4
area_water_km2 = 0.3
area_total_sq_mi = 13.4
area_land_sq_mi = 13.3
area_water_sq_mi = 0.1

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 44382
population_density_km2 = 1292.0
population_density_sq_mi = 3346.4

timezone = Central (CST)
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 315
elevation_ft = 1033
latd = 41 |latm = 9 |lats = 31 |latNS = N
longd = 95 |longm = 56 |longs = 3 |longEW = W

area_code = 402
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 31-03950GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0827304GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Bellevue is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 44,382 at the 2000 census. South of Omaha, Bellevue is part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Incorporated in 1855, it is the oldest city in Nebraska.Fact|date=July 2008 It is the third-largest city in the state, just ahead of Grand Island.

Geography

Bellevue is located at coor dms|41|9|31|N|95|56|3|W|city (41.158518, -95.934135)GR|1. It is bounded on the east by the Missouri River. Elevation: 353 meters (1159 ft). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.4 square miles (34.7 km²), of which, 13.3 square miles (34.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (0.7%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 44,382 people, 16,937 households, and 11,940 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,346.4 people per square mile (1,292.3/km²). There were 17,439 housing units at an average density of 1,314.9/sq mi (507.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.83% White, 6.13% African American, 0.50% Native American, 2.11% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 2.78% from other races, and 2.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.88% of the population.

There were 16,937 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,201, and the median income for a family was $54,422. Males had a median income of $33,819 versus $25,783 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,903. About 4.1% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

Fur country

Settlement of what became Bellevue began when a fur trading post was built in 1822 by Joshua Pilcher, then president of the Missouri Fur Company based in St. Louis. The post was later known as Fontenelle's Post after being run by Lucien Fontenelle, a trader who purchased it in 1828 representing the American Fur Company. The Post served as a central trading point with local Omaha, Otoe, Missouri and Pawnee tribes. Early French Canadian trappers named the area "Belle Vue" because of the beauty of the view from the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River.

Fontenelle sold the post in 1832 to the US Government for the Missouri River Indian Agency (also called the Bellevue Agency). By this time the fur trade had declined greatly. When the first Baptist missionaries, Moses and Eliza Merrill, arrived in 1833, the Indian agent let them stay at the post temporarily. They moved about eight miles to the west with the Otoe in 1835, where they established what was known as the Otoe or Moses Merrill Mission. Fontenelle's Post was abandoned about 1839-1842. [ [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/newsletr/feb99.htm "Early trading posts are subject of new book"] Nebraska State Historical Society Historical Newsletter, February 1999.]

Colonel Peter Sarpy, a trader and Louisiana Creole, established a trading post across the river from Bellevue in what became Iowa. It chiefly supplied the expeditions of European and United States settlers bound for Oregon and later, California's Gold Rush. About 1846, Sarpy also set up a ferry between Bellevue and St. Mary's, Iowa. By the 1850s one of his ferries ran by steam. He later became active in community affairs in Bellevue and helped plat and organize the town, as well as platting Decatur. The legislature named Sarpy County after him for his service in community organizing.

Ideally situated on the Missouri River with access to the Platte River Valley, Bellevue continued to grow. The community became a hub for transfer of manufactured goods from the East and furs from the West. From the 1840s until the 1850s, Bellevue prospered. With the decline of the fur trade, Bellevue changed during the decade of the 1850s. With the opening of eastern Nebraska to settlement in 1854, Bellevue experienced a building boom, with the erection of the First Presbyterian Church, a bank, a hotel, and dozens of private homes.

The boom was short-lived, however. The expansion accompanied a belief that the city was to be selected as the capital of the Nebraska Territory. Since the city was the oldest and most widely known settlement in the territory, Bellevue residents were optimistic. The new territorial governor, Francis Burt, had already moved into a residence in Bellevue. Shortly after arriving, Governor Burt died. His successor T.B. Cuming selected a new upstart community as the territorial capital — Omaha.

Decline

The second half of the century witnessed Bellevue's slip into relative obscurity. While Omaha grew from a few hundred in population in 1855 to 104,000 in 1890, Bellevue's numbers continued to slide until the city was near extinction. In 1876, the county seat was transferred to Papillion, convert|10|mi|km to the west. In the 1880s, Bellevue College (now Bellevue University) was established. In the 1890s, the city's offer of inexpensive land brought Fort Crook to the Bellevue area. Both organizations provided an insurance against extinction. It would be the fort, however, that would cause the biggest impetus to Bellevue's population in the future.

From the 1880s to 1940, Bellevue's population grew minimally, from around 500 to not more than 1200 in 1940. The small growth was primarily due to the improved transportation access to Omaha, which allowed for easier commuting.

Offutt Air Force Base

It was Fort Crook, later named Offutt Air Force Base, that spurred Bellevue's largest growth. When Offutt became home to the huge Martin bomber plant during World War II and then, shortly after the war, housed the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command, thousands of workers, both civilian and military, made Bellevue their home. Bellevue's population grew from less than 1200 in 1940 to almost 4000 in 1950 and then almost 9000 ten years later. A decade later, Bellevue's population again more than doubled, to more than 20,000. The Martin Bomber Plant is birthplace of the historically famed Enola Gay and Bockscar, the planes that dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, respectively.

Offutt Air Force Base is the location of the 55th Wing, United States Strategic Command (formerly Strategic Air Command) and the Air Force Weather Agency.

The first divided highway in Nebraska was built from the south Omaha city limits to Offutt Air Force Base. Today known as Fort Crook Road, it was finished December 8, 1941, the day after the Pearl Harbor attacks. [ [http://www.dm.net/~chris-g/ne-facts.html The Nebraska Highways Page: Facts About Nebraska Highways ] ]

Today

Bellevue's growth today is primarily due to an expanding economy in the civilian sector. The Kennedy Freeway, a limited-access highway linked to the Interstate Highway System, has stimulated a new building boom. Commercial, industrial, and residential construction are all expanding. During the decade of the 1990s, Bellevue saw its population grow by 47.5%. The population boom has continued after the turn of the century.

Bellevue is also home to Fontenelle Forest, convert|1400|acre|km2 of privately owned forestland with convert|17|mi|km of hiking trails, with views of the Missouri River and surrounding area. It includes the site of Fontenelle's Post. Hayworth Park at the Missouri River is also a popular tourist attraction, featuring the start of a walking trail that stretches many miles across Bellevue.

ee also

*Bellevue Public Schools
*Offutt Air Force Base
*US Strategic Command
*Moses Merill Mission

References

External links

* [http://www.bellevue.net City of Bellevue Website]
* [http://www.bellevuepublicschools.org/ Bellevue Public Schools]
* [http://www.bellevuepd.com/ Bellevue Police Department]
* [http://www.bellevuenebraska.com/ Bellevue Chamber of Commerce]