The history of Lincoln, Nebraska began with the settlement of the village of Lancaster in 1856. The county of Lancaster was founded in 1859. Prior to settlement from the westward expansion of the United States, Plains Indians, descendants of indigenous peoples who occupied the area for thousands of years lived in and hunted along Salt Creek. Settlers first came to extract salt from the wild salt flats of Salt Creek. Nebraska was granted statehood March 1, 1867. Soon afterwards a commission created by the State was appointed to locate the State Capital on State lands. The village of Lancaster was chosen for the Capital of Nebraska. The village of Lancaster became Lincoln. Lincoln was named after Abraham Lincoln. The first State Capitol was completed in 1868. Lincoln incorporated on April 1, 1869.
By 1870, railroads began to use Lincoln as a stop westward, and by 1892, Lincoln was a rail center. In the early twentieth century, Volga-German immigrants from Russia began settling in the North Bottoms neighborhood. By 1911, the Omaha-Lincoln-Denver Highway (O-L-D) established through Lincoln. By 1920 the first air field Union Airport was established northeast of Lincoln. As transportation linked Lincoln to points east, west, north and south, the cities population grew to 54,948 by 1920.
The suburban Gateway Mall was completed in 1960. The downtown core began to deteriorate as businesses moved to suburban areas. Revitalization began in 1969 after the passage of State laws for revitalization and beautification of blighted urban areas. Lincoln's first woman mayor, Helen Boosalis, was elected in 1975. Mayor Boosalis was a strong supporter of revitalization and for making Lincoln a home for refugees beginning with the Vietnamese relocation program in the late 1970s. Lincoln was designated as a "Refugee Friendly" city by the U.S. Department of State in 1990. Lincoln's population grew to 258,379 by 2010.
19th century Pioneer Lincoln
Prior to the expansion westward of settlers, the prairie was covered with buffalo grass. From 1847 to 1860, the cattle of the west-bound ox trains spread seed that they had eaten along the trails in their journey westward, introducing new plant species to the prairie. Plains Indians, descendants of indigenous peoples who occupied the area for thousands of years, lived in and hunted along Salt Creek. The Pawnee, which included four tribes, lived in villages along the Platte River. The Great Sioux Nation, including the Ihanktowan-Ihanktowana and the Lakota located to the north and west, used Nebraska as a hunting and skirmish ground, although they did not have any long-term settlements in the state. An occasional buffalo could still be seen in the plat of Lincoln in the 1860s.
Founding Lincoln was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster and became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859. The village was sited on the east bank of Salt Creek. The first settlers were attracted to the area due to the abundance of salt. Salt was a commodity used primarily in the preservation of meat. Greater quantities of salt could be obtained by boiling away the water in vats. Once J. Sterling Morton developed his salt mines in Kansas, salt in the village was no longer a viable commodity.
Captain W. T. Donovan, a former steamer captain, and his family settled on Salt Creek in 1856. The Captain was selected to represent the Crescent Company in the production of salt. Other settlers began to settle in the area. During the latter part of 1858, Captain Donovan and his family abandoned the schemes of the Crescent Company and left the area to the Stevens Creek settlement due to the threatening aspect of the Pawnee Indians.
In the fall of 1859, the village settlers met to form a county. A caucus was formed and the committee, which included Captain Donovan from Stevens Creek, selected the village of Lancaster to be the county seat. The county was named Lancaster.
The village had very few inhabitants. After the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act, homesteaders began to inhabit the area. A religious colony led by Reverend John M. Young was the first to settle the village of Lancaster in 1863, and some consider John M. Young to have been the founder of the eventual city of Lincoln. The first plat was dated August 6, 1864. From the north to the south the streets were North, Nebraska, Saline, Washington, Main, Lincoln, College, High and Locust. From west to east streets were numbered one to twelve.
Most settlers abandoned the village in September 1864 due to the 1864 Sioux Indian scare. The Pawnee Indians, who inhabited the area and were not in conflict with the settlers, chased the Sioux out of the area. The village of Lancaster was spared, though other settlements were not. The settlers began to return in 1865 with many taking homesteads.
Establishment as state capital The capital of the Nebraska Territory had been Omaha since the creation of the territory in 1854; however, most of the territory's population lived south of the Platte River. After much of the territory south of the Platte River considered annexation to Kansas, the territorial legislature voted to locate the capital city south of the river and as far west as possible.
Prior to the vote to remove the capital city from Omaha, a last ditch effort by Omaha Senator J. N. H. Patrick attempted to derail the move by having the future capital city named after recently assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Many of the people south of the Platte River had been sympathetic to the Confederate cause in the recently concluded Civil War. It was assumed that senators south of the river would not vote to pass the measure if the future capital was named after the former president. In the end, the motion to name the future capital city Lincoln was ineffective and the vote to change the capital's location south of the Platte River was successful with the passage of the Removal Act.
Nebraska was granted statehood on March 1, 1867. The Removal Act called for the formation of a Capital Commission to locate a site for the capital on state owned land. The Commission, composed of Governor David Butler, Secretary of State Thomas Kennard, and Auditor John Gillespie, began to tour sites on July 18, 1867 for the new capital city. The village of Lancaster was chosen, in part due to the salt flats and marshes. Lancaster had approximately 30 residents. Disregarding the original plat of the village of Lancaster, Thomas Kennard platted Lincoln on a broader scale. The plat of the village of Lancaster was not dissolved nor abandoned; Lancaster became Lincoln when the Lincoln plat files were finished September 6, 1867. To raise money for the construction of a capital city, a successful auction of lots was held. Newcomers began to arrive and Lincoln's population grew. The Nebraska State Capitol was completed on December 1, 1868; a two-story building constructed with native limestone with a central cupola. The Kennard house, built in 1869, is the oldest remaining building in the original plat of Lincoln.
Building of a city In 1867, the first newspaper, the Nebraska Commonwealth, was established by Charles H. Gere. The Commonwealth became the Nebraska State Journal in 1868. By the close of 1868, Lincoln had a population of approximately 500 people. In 1869, the University of Nebraska was established in Lincoln by the state with a land grant of about 130,000 acres. Construction of University Hall, the first building, began the same year. The city of Lincoln was incorporated April 1, 1869.
The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad's first train arrived in Lincoln on June 26, 1870, soon to be followed by the Midland Pacific in 1871 and the Atchison & Nebraska in 1872. The Union Pacific began service in 1877. The Chicago & North Western and Missouri Pacific began service in 1886. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific extended service to Lincoln in 1892. Lincoln became a rail center.
In 1869, Wyuka Cemetery was established by the state as a state cemetery in the new capital city. The cemetery was modeled after the rural Mount Auburn Cemetery east of Boston. Wyuka is from the Lakota language meaning "to rest". Lakota is spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. The first police force was formed July 1870. On December 22, 1870, the State Lunatic Asylum was completed and accepting patients. One year later the asylum burned down. A new asylum was completed in 1872. By 1888, there were nearly 400 patients. The Lincoln Gas Light Company was organized in 1872. The US Post Office and Courthouse was built from 1874–1879. The city public library was founded in December 1875.
As the city grew with new residents, retail flourished. Herpolsheimer's and Miller & Paine were the first department stores in Lincoln, both founded in 1880. Herpolsheimer's first location was at 1109 O Street and operated as the Cash Goods House. A decade later, Herpolsheimer's relocated to the southwest corner of 12th and N Streets, building a 73,000 square foot building. The store was known variously as The Exposition Store, The Glass Block and The Daylight Store. The store was reported at the time to be the largest department store west of the Missouri River. Herpolsheimer's closed in May 1931 due to the Great Depression. Miller & Paine occupied the corner of 13th and O Streets and would continue to be in business until 1988.
In 1880, the Lincoln Telephone Exchange was organized. The City Water Works were begun in 1881. The city council voted to establish a full-time paid Fire Department in 1885 with one company working with volunteer fire companies. By 1886 the volunteer fire companies dispanded. In 1887, the department increased to three companies. The Fire Departments horses, which pulled the hose cart and steamer, were not replaced with gasoline engines until 1919. The first hospital, Saint Elizabeth Hospital, was founded in 1889. Saint Elizabeth Hospital would be the only general hospital in Lincoln until 1922.
In 1888 a new capitol building was constructed on the site of the first capitol. The new building replaced the former structurally unsound capitol. The second capitol building was a classical design, designed by architect William H. Willcox. The worldwide economic depression of 1890 saw the reduction of Lincoln's population from 55,000 to 37,000 by 1900.
20th century Beginnings of a modern city
In 1905, the evening newspaper, The Nebraska State Journal, was joined by a morning newspaper, The Lincoln Star. Both newspapers merged in 1995 to become the Lincoln Journal Star. In 1915 William Gold incorporated his former dry goods store The Peoples Store as Gold and Company. Gold and Company would expand at the site of 11th and O Street to become a six-story department store known as Gold's.
As automobile travel became more common in the U.S., the needs for better roads in Nebraska and throughout the U.S. grew. After planning and by the Omaha-Denver Trans-Continental Route Association in 1911 with support from the Good Roads Movement, the Omaha-Lincoln-Denver Highway (O-L-D) was established through Lincoln. Its goal was having the most efficient highway to travel on throughout the state of Nebraska, from Omaha to Denver. Construction and improvements existing roads began shortly thereafter and the highway was established. The original O-L-D route through Lincoln approached the city from University Place to the north (Warren Avenue - today's N. 48th Street); then Holdrege St. west past the Agricultural College; N. 27th St. south; O Street west through downtown; N. 3rd St. north one block; then finally P Street west out of Lincoln towards Emerald. Up until 1919, the responsibility for maintenance of the O-L-D was up to the association, individuals and towns along the route, including Lincoln. After 1919, with a series of acts, the O-L-D was transferred to the state highway system, who took over upkeep of the highway.