USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 60
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THE LEGISLATURE
From the time the Territory of Nebraska was organized until 1859, the County of Douglas was entitled to four members of the council and eight members of the house in the Territorial Legislature. From 1859 to 1864 the county was represented by three members in the council and six in the house, and from 1864 to the admission of the state in 1867 by two councilmen and five representatives. Following are the names of the Douglas County legislators during the territorial cra :
First Session, Jaunary 16, 1855: Councilmen-Samuel E. Rogers, O. D. Richardson, A. D. Jones and T. G. Goodwill. Representatives-William N.
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Byers, William Clancy, Fleming Davidson, Thomas Davis, Alfred D. Goyer, Andrew J. Hanscom, A. J. Poppleton and Robert B. Whitted.
Second Session, December 18, 1855: Councilmen-Samuel E. Rogers, O. D. Rogers, Alfred D. Jones and Taylor G. Goodwill. Representatives-Leavitt L. Bowen, William Clancy, Alexander Davis, Levi Harsh, William Larimer, Jr., George L. Miller, William E. Moore and Alonzo F. Salisbury.
Third Session, January 5, 1857: Councilmen-L. L. Bowen, George L. Miller, Samuel E. Rogers and Alonzo F. Salisbury. Representatives-George Armstrong, Joseph Dyson, John Finney, C. T. Halloway, A. J. Hanscom, Har- rison Johnson, R. Kimball, William E. Moore, M. Murphy, Jonas Seely, J. Stein- berger and Silas A. Strickland. (The records do not make plain how twelve names appear as representatives from Douglas County at this session, when the county was entitled to but eight.)
Fourth Session, December 8, 1857: Councilmen-William Clancy, George L. Miller, Samuel E. Rogers and A. F. Salisbury. Representatives-George Arm- strong, George Clayes, M. Murphy, A. J. Poppleton, J. W. Paddock, J. Stein- berger, J. S. Stewart and W. R. Thrall.
Fifth Session, September 21, 1858: Councilmen-George W. Doane, George L. Miller, William E. Moore and John R. Porter. Representatives-George Clayes, Clinton Briggs, William A. Gwyer, James H. Seymour, James Stewart, John A. Steinberger, R. W. Steele and Augustus Roeder.
Sixth Session, December 5, 1859: Councilmen-George W. Doane, William A. Little, George L. Miller and John R. Porter. Representatives-David D. Belden, A. J. Hanscom, Harrison Johnson, George B. Lake, George F. Kennedy and A. B. Malcolm.
Seventh Session, December 2, 1860: Councilmen-David D. Belden, William A. Little and John M. Thayer. Representatives-Merrill H. Clarke, Henry Grebe, Joel T. Griffin, Samuel A. Lowe, Ezra Millard and John I. Redick.
Eighth Session, December 2, 1861 : Councilmen-David D. Belden, William A. Little and William F. Sapp. Representatives-Aaron Cahn, Merrill H. Clarke, Oscar F. Davis, Joel T. Griffin, Alfred D. Jones (speaker), and James H. Seymour.
At the beginning of the Civil war in 1861, a direct tax of $19,312 was levied against Nebraska by an act of Congress, but the tax was remitted by the General Government in consideration of no legislative session being held in 1862, the expense of which the Government would have had to pay. The amount of the direct tax was likewise refunded to the state by act of Congress in 1891.
Ninth Session, January 7, 1864: Councilmen-William A. Little, John McCormick and John R. Porter. Representatives-Daniel Gantt, Henry Grebe, George B. Lake (speaker), B. E. B. Kennedy, John Ritchie and Joel S. Smith.
Tenth Session, January 5, 1865: Councilmen-B. E. B. Kennedy and John R. Porter. Representatives-Charles H. Brown, Charles M. Conoyer, A. J. Critchfield, E. L. Emery and James W. Pickard.
Eleventh Session, January 4, 1866: Councilmen-B. E. B. Kennedy and John R. Porter. Representatives-Charles H. Brown, Frederick Drexel, George B. Lake, James G. Megeath (speaker), and Joseph W. Paddock.
Twelfth Session, July 4, 1866: Councilmen-James G. Megeath and M. C. Wilbur. Representatives-Vincent Burkley, A. J. Critchfield, W. A. Denton,
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Philip O'Hanlon and J. W. Paddock. This session was convened under the supposition that Nebraska would be admitted as a state by that date, but the veto of the bill by President Johnson continued Nebraska as a territory and the two sessions in the early part of the following year are both regarded as territorial assemblies.
Thirteenth Session, January 10, 1867: Councilmen-George W. Doane and William Baumer. Representatives-E. P. Child, S. M. Curran, George W. Frost, Harvey Link and Daniel S. Parmelee.
Fourteenth Session, February 20, 1867: Councilmen-Isaac S. Hascall and E. H. Rogers. Representatives-Martin Dunham, George W. Frost, Joel T. Griffin and Daniel S. Parmelee.
On March 1. 1867, President Andrew Johnson issued his proclamation declaring Nebraska admitted to the Union as a state. The upper branch of the Legislature from this time is known as the senate and the lower branch as the house of representatives. The following list of senators and representatives was compiled from the Nebraska Blue Book for 1915.
Senators-Isaac N. Hascall and J. N. H. Patrick, 1867; E. B. Taylor and George W. Frost, 1869; Isaac S. Hascall and Frederick Metz, 1871; William A. Gwyer and O. Wilson, 1873; Charles B. Rustin and Jacob S. Spaun, 1875; George W. Ambrose and Charles H. Brown, 1877: Charles H. Brown and Charles K. Coutant, 1879; George W. Doane and John D. Howe, 1881; Charles H. Brown and George Canfield, 1883; John A. McShane and Frederick Metz, 1885; George W. Lininger and Bruno Tzschuck, 1887; J. T. Paulsen and William A. Paxton, 1889; George Christofferson, John C. Shea and Warren Switzler, 1891; W. N. Babcock, Charles H. Clarke and C. O. Lobeck, 1893; Thomas D. Crane, Isaac Noyes and Richard Smith, 1895; J. H. Evans, Edward E. Howell, John Jeffcoat and Frank T. Ransom, 1897; Joseph Crow, Isaac Noyes and James H. Van Dusen, 1899; Howard H. Baldridge, John Liddell and Frank T. Ransom, 1901 ; Robert B. Howell, Charles L. Saunders and Matthew A. Hall, 1903; L. C. Gibson, Charles L. Saunders and B. F. Thomas, 1905; (the same senators served in the session of 1907) ; Edward E. Howell, Frank T. Ransom and John M1. Tanner, 1909; Richard S. Horton, John E. Reagan and John M. Tanner, 1911 ; Nathan P. Dodge. Jr., John H. Grossmann, F. Haarmann, John MI. McFarland and Charles L. Saunders, 1913; Jeff W. Bedford. Nathan P. Dodge, Jr., Edward E. Howell, Laurie J. Quinby and Charles L. Saunders, 1915.
Representatives-Martin Dunham, George W. Frost and Joel T. Griffin, 1867 : S. C. Brewster, Joseph Fox, John B. Furay, Joel T. Griffin, Edwin Loveland and Daniel S. Parmelee, 1869; S. C. Brewster, Joseph Fox, Joel T. Griffin, C. A. Leary, Edwin Loveland and Daniel S. Parmelee, 1870; John Ahmanson, Thomas F. Hall, John C. Myers, Lewis S. Reed, Edward Rosewater and William M. Ryan, 1871; W. R. Bartlett, Erwin G. Dudley, Martin Dunham, Hugh L. Dodge, Charles F. Goodman and John L. Webster, 1873; Alexander H. Baker. B. H. Barrows, John Baumer, Frank Murphy, John M. Thurston and Jacob Wiedensall, 1875 ; Alexander H. Baker, Thomas Blackmore, James Creighton, James S. Gibson, William Neville, George E. Pritchett, P. P. Shelby and L. L. Wilcox, 1877; Lewis M. Bennett, Ralph E. Gaylord, Charles J. Karbach, Patrick McArdle and George Plumbeck, 1879; Edmund M. Bartlett, Henry Bolln, William J. Broatch, Stephen K. Jackson, James H. Kyner, John A. McShane, P. O. Mullen and William A.
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Paxton, 1881 ; Hugh G. Clark, Frank Colpetzer, John Christopherson, Fred W. Gray, Alexander McGavock, Henry Sussenbach and William Turtle, 1883; Thomas C. Bruner, Patrick McArdle, John Mulvihill, James E. Riley, A. C. Troup, William Turtle, William G. Whitmore and James H. Winspear, 1885; Philip Andres, Patrick Garvey, George Heimrod, David Knox, C. J. Smyth, John Matthieson, William G. Whitmore and J. R. Young, 1887; R. S. Berlin,. R. C. Cushing, S. B. Fenno, W. A. Gardner, J. H. Hungate, John McMillan, F. R. Morrissey, William Neve and Adam Snyder, 1889 (during the session Mr. Mor- rissey and Mr. Fenno were unseated, their places being given to George M. O'Brien and Christian Specht, respectively ) ; George Bertrand, Joseph J. Breen, James C. Brennan, Thomas Capek, Patrick Ford, W. S. Felker, W. A. Gardner, Jesse B. Huse and George J. Sternsdorf, 1891; George W. Ames, Thomas D. Crane, Charles A. Goss, James H. Kyner, Augustus Lockner, W. N. Nason, M. O. Ricketts, A. L. Sutton and C. H. Withnell, 1893; James Allen, E. Benedict, Joseph Crow, A. C. Harte, Richard H. Jenness, John W. Johnston, M. O. Ricketts and A. L. Sutton, 1895; Frank Burman, John H. Butler, Levi Cox, Joseph Crow, E. E. Curtis, John Liddell, Edson Rich, John F. Roberts, Dudley Smith, John H. Taylor and John O. Yeiser, 1897; J. A. Beverly, Frank Burman, Levi Cox, J. O. Detweiler, Thomas J. Flynn, Miles D. Houck, Hugh A. Myers, R. H. Olmstead and T. F. Sturgess, 1899; Vaclar Buresh, S. A. Corneer, Cary M. Hunt, Charles T. Johnson, Henry McCoy, George A. Mead; P. M. Mullen, Mel Uhl and Burton E. Wilcox, 1901 ; D. W. Gilbert, J. A. C. Kennedy, F. W. Koetter, E. N. Morsman, Jr., W. T. Nelson, Thomas C. Shelly and W. B. Ten Eyck, 1903 ; C. J. Anderson, S. C. Barnes, H. T. Clarke, N. P. Dodge, Jr., Frank J. Fitts, Harry A. Foster, Michael Lee, Mathew E. Muxen and F. C. Tucker, 1905 ; S. C. Barnes, F. C. Best, H. T. Clarke, N. P. Dodge, Jr., A. R. Harvey, Michael Lee, Edward Leeder and F. C. Tucker, 1907; Peter G. H. Boland, William Butt, James P. Connolly, Robert H. Holmes, Jeremiah Howard, J. P. Kraus, W. S. Shoemaker, W. F. Stoecker and Walter P. Thomas, 1909; Peter G. H. Boland, J. H. Bulla, John H. Grossmann, Robert H. Holmes, C. B. Liver, J. F. Moriarty, Frank J. Riha and W. S. Shoemaker, 1911 ; Nels J. Anderson, John B. Brain, James A. Davis, Robert C. Druesedow, Ira Flanagan, S. G. Hoff, Michael Lee, Edward Simon, Edward A. Smith, Martin L. Sugarman and Frank C. Yates, 1913; John C. Barrett, J. F. Burgess, William N. Chambers, Jeremiah Howard, R. C. Hunter, John Larsen, Nels A. Lundgren, Bert C. Miner, John J. Negley, J. P. Palmer and Henry C. Richmond, 1915.
UNITED STATES SENATORS
Although United States senators represent the entire state from which they are elected, a majority of those who have held that office in Nebraska have come from Douglas County. When the state was admitted in 1867, the first senators were John M. Thayer, of Omaha, and Thomas W. Tipton, of Brownville. The Thayer line of succession has been as follows: P. W. Hitchcock, 1871; Alvin Saunders, 1877; Charles F. Manderson, 1883; John M. Thurston, 1895; Joseph H. Millard, 1901 ; Norris Brown, 1907; George W. Norris, 1913.
The successors of Senator Tipton have been: Algernon S. Paddock, 1875; C. H. Van Wyck, 1881 ; Algernon S. Paddock, 1887; William V. Allen, 1893;
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Monroe L. Hayward, 1899; (Mr. Hayward was elected on March 8, 1899, and died on December 5, 1899, before he had taken the oath of office. W. V. Allen was appointed to the vacancy by the governor and served until March 28, 1901, when Charles H. Dietrich was elected to fill the unexpired term) : Elmer J. Burkett, 1905; Gilbert M. Hitchcock, 191I.
CHAPTER XXXII
CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY
CIVILIZATION A PRODUCT OF EVOLUTION-INFLUENCE OF EVENTS UPON THOSE THAT FOLLOW-AN EXAMPLE-EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY-LIST OF IMPORTANT OCCURRENCES SINCE THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.
Every civilized country or community is the product of evolution. In the process of development one event follows another and each event wields more or less influence upon those that come after it. In the foregoing chapters a con- scientious effort has been made to show the progress of Omaha and Douglas County along industrial, educational, professional and religious lines, as well as their part in the military and political affairs of the state and nation. As a fitting conclusion to this work, the following summary of events leading up to the settlement of Nebraska, the organization of Douglas County and the building of Omaha, or having some bearing upon their more recent history, has been compiled for ready reference.
At first glance, many of these events may seem to have no connection, or at least a very remote one, with local history, but each one played its allotted part, great or small, in shaping the destiny of state, county and city. For example : The discovery of the Mississippi River by De Soto in 1541 ; the English grant of land to the Plymouth Company in 1620; or the claiming of the Mississippi Valley by La Salle in 1082, may appear to the casual reader as having no place in a history of Omaha and Douglas County. Yet these events were the forerunners of the conflict of Spanish, English and French interests in America-a conflict which finally ended in the treaty of April 30, 1803, by which the region now compris- ing the State of Nebraska became the property of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase.
-, 1541. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado marched from Mexico in search of the Province of Quivira and touched the southern part of the present State of Nebraska.
-, 1541. Hernando de Soto discovered the Mississippi River, not far from the present City of Memphis, Tenn. This discovery formed the basis of Spanish claims to the interior of North America.
-, 1599. Don Juan de Onate led an expedition from New Mexico in quest of the fabled Quivira. Some chroniclers think it possible that he may have reached the Platte Valley.
----. 1620. A large grant of land, including the present State of Nebraska, was made by the British crown to the Plymouth Company.
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March 6, 1662. Penalosa left Santa Fe with another expedition to make a search for Quivira.
May 2, 1670. The Hudson's Bay Company chartered by the English Govern- ment. This was the first of the great companies formed for the purpose of trading with the North American Indians.
June 17, 1673. Marquette and Joliet, the French explorers, saw the Mis- sissippi River for the first time, near the present city of Prairie du Chien, Wis.
April 9, 1682. Sieur de La Salle claimed all the territory drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries for France and gave the region the name of Louisiana. Nebraska was included in this claim.
June 2, 1739. Pierre and Paul Mallet discovered the Platte River, not far from where the city of Grand Island now stands.
November 3, 1762. The Treaty of Fontainebleau concluded, by which France ceded all that part of the Province of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain. Nebraska thus became a part of the Spanish possessions in America.
September 3, 1783. Conclusion of the treaty that ended the Revolutionary war and fixed the Mississippi River as the western boundary of the United States.
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, 1795. A Scotchman name Mckay established a trading post on the west bank of the Missouri River, about twelve or fifteen miles below the present town of Dakota, and gave it the name of Fort Charles. This was probably the first white man's establishment within the present limits of Nebraska.
October 1, 1800. Conclusion of the Treaty of San Ildefonso, by which Spain ceded Louisiana back to France.
April 30, 1803. The Treaty of Paris concluded, by which the United States purchased Louisiana for $15,000,000. Nebraska by this treaty became the property of the United States.
December 20, 1803. Louisiana formally transferred to the United States.
August 3, 1804. Lewis and Clark, the explorers sent up the Missouri River by the United States, held a council with the Otoe and Missouri Indians about where the town of Fort Calhoun, Neb., now stands.
August 19, 1804. The same explorers held a council with the Omaha Indians at their village farther up the Missouri.
February, 1808. The Missouri Fur Company organized at St. Louis for the purpose of trading with the Indian tribes along the Missouri River.
April 6, 1808. The American Fur Company organized in New York by John Jacob Astor and his associates.
June 4. 1812. The Territory of Missouri, which included the present State of Nebraska, organized by an act of Congress.
-, 1819. Fort Atkinson (afterward Fort Calhoun) established by a -
detachment of troops sent up the Missouri River by the United States. The fort was abandoned on June 27, 1827.
September 16, 1819. The steamboat Western Engineer passed the plateau where Omaha now stands, being the first steamboat to ascend the Missouri River to that point. It carried Maj. Stephen H. Long's expedition of topographical engineers, which wintered at Fort Lisa, one of the trading posts of the Missouri Fur Company.
May 6, 1825. Logan Fontenelle, afterward chief of the Omaha Indians, was born at Fort Atkinson.
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-- , 1825. T. B. Roye (or Royce) established a trading post within the present city limits of Omaha.
November 30, 1844. First official use of the name "Nebraska" by Willian Wilkins, then the United States secretary of war.
January 29, 1846. The first Mormons crossed the Missouri River and estab- lished "Winter Quarters," where Florence is now located.
October 11, 1853. Hadley D. Johnson chosen delegate to Congress by an election held at Bellevue, with instructions to work for the establishment of a new territory west of the Missouri.
March 16, 1854. A treaty with the chiefs of the Omaha Indians was nego- tiated, by which that tribe ceded the land now comprising Douglas County to the United States.
May 5, 1854. The first postoffice at Omaha was established and Alfred D. Jones appointed postmaster.
May 30, 1854. President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
June, 1854. The first house in Omaha was commenced by Thomas Allen for the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company. When completed it was called the "St. Nicholas" and was conducted as a hotel by William P. Snowden and his wife.
July 4, 1854. The first celebration of Independence Day on Nebraska soil was held at Omaha.
July 22, 1854. A claim club called the "Omaha Township Claim Association" was organized by the settlers to protect their titles.
July 28, 1854. First issue of the "Omaha Arrow," the first newspaper pub- lished in the city.
August 13, 1854. The first sermon in Omaha preached by Rev. Peter Cooper at the St. Nicholas House.
October 7, 1854. Francis Burt, the first territorial governor of Nebraska, arrived at Bellevue. He took the oath of office on the 16th and died two days afterward.
October 19, 1854. Thomas B. Cuming, territorial secretary, assumed the duties of acting governor.
October, 1854. Birth of the first white child in Omaha-a daughter of James Ferry and his wife.
November 20, 1854. First census of the Territory of Nebraska was con- pleted-population, 2.732.
December 12, 1854. First election for members of the legislature in Nebraska. January 16, 1855. The first session of the Territorial Legislature was con- vened at Omaha.
January 31, 1855. Acting Governor Cuming approved the bill locating the territorial seat of government at Omaha.
February 10, 1855. The Territorial Supreme Court was organized at Omaha, but transacted no business except that of organization.
March 12, 1855. First session of the District Court held at Bellevue, then in Douglas County.
April, 1855. The Western Exchange Fire and Marine Insurance Company, the first financial institution in Nebraska, opened for business in Omaha.
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July 1, 1855. The first school in Omaha was opened by Julia A. Goodwill, daughter of T. G. Goodwill.
October 22, 1855. The first grand jury in Douglas County was convened.
November 1I, 1855. First wedding in Omaha, John Logan and Caroline M. Moser being the contracting parties.
February 1, 1856. The first Odd Fellows' Lodge in Douglas County organized at Omaha. It was the second lodge of that order in Nebraska.
May 1, 1856. E. L. Eaton on this date opened the first photographic studio in the city of Omaha.
October 8, 1856. The first regular election for county officers in Douglas County was held. - , 1856. In this year the Government survey of public lands in Douglas County was completed.
December 27, 1856. The first board of county commissioners voted a tax of two mills on the dollar for the purpose of building a courthouse.
January 9, 1857. The first Masonic Lodge in Douglas County and the third in Nebraska, was organized at Omaha.
February 2, 1857. The act of the Legislature incorporating the City of Omaha was approved by Governor Izard.
February 7, 1857. Sarpy County cut off from Douglas by an act of the Territorial Legislature. It was named for Peter A. Sarpy, who was in charge of the trading post at Bellevue.
March 2, 1857. First election for city officers of Omaha.
March 5, 1857. First meeting of the Omaha City Council.
March 17, 1857. The United States land office was opened at Omaha, with Col. A. R. Gilmore as receiver and J. A. Parker, registrar. The first entry of land was made the same day by Jesse Lowe, embracing a tract of 320 acres within the present city limits.
August 3, 1857. The first express office in Omaha was opened by the United States Express Company, with J. Shepard as agent.
October 27, 1857. The first steps were taken toward the organization of the Omaha Fire Department.
January 8, 1858. Part of both houses of the Legislature, then in session at Omaha, voted to adjourn to Florence.
March, 1858. Burial of A. F. Salisbury in Prospect Hill Cemetery. His grave was the first in that burial ground.
March 4, 1859. The county commissioners purchased a tract of 170 acres in the northeast quarter of section 29, township 15, range 13, for a poor farm.
July 6, 1859. The expedition against the Pawnee Indians left Omaha under command of Gen. John M. Thayer.
October 1, 1860. Omaha connected for the first time with the outside world by telegraph.
May 18, 1861. Gov. Alvin Saunders issued his proclamation calling for a regiment of volunteers to aid in the suppression of the rebellion of the Southern States.
June, 1861. The first company of volunteers from Douglas County mustered into the United States service.
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July 4, 1862. The telegraph line between Omaha and San Francisco, Cal., completed.
August 26, 1862. Nebraska organized as a United States internal revenue district, with J. H. Burbank as the first assessor.
August 28, 1863. Cyrus H. Tator hanged at Omaha for the murder of Isaac H. Neff. This was the first legal execution in Nebraska.
November 1, 1863. President Abraham Lincoln issued his order fixing the eastern treminus of the Union Pacific Railroad at Omaha.
December 2, 1863. Ground broken at Omaha for the Union Pacific Railroad.
April 9, 1864. President Lincoln approved the act of Congress authorizing the people of Nebraska to form a constitution, preparatory to the admission into the Union as a state.
June 4, 1865. Peter A. Sarpy, Indian trader and a noted character in early days, died at Plattsmouth, Neb.
February 9, 1866. The Legislature adopted a joint resolution to prepare a constitution for submission to the people.
March, 1866. The Omaha Police Department was organized.
July 1, 1866. The First Nebraska Regiment was mustered out at Omaha, after five years of service against the Confederate States and the Indians of the plains.
August 1, 1866. The first Omaha Medical Society was organized.
January 1, 1867. Omaha's first street railroad company was incorporated by an act of the Legislature.
January 17, 1867. The first train on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad arrived at the Missouri River opposite Omaha.
January 26, 1867. The first Grand Army post at Omaha was organized.
February 7, 1867. Act of the Legislature locating the State Institute for the Deaf and Dumb at Omaha approved by Gov. Alvin Saunders.
March I, 1867. Proclamation of President Andrew Johnson declaring Nebraska admitted into the Union as a state.
March 27, 1867. The State Government of Nebraska was inaugurated.
June 14, 1867. Gov. David Butler approved the act of the Legislature remov- ing the state capital to Lincoln.
January 15, 1868. The Omaha Gas Company was organized.
November 23, 1868. The first Knights of Pythias Lodge in Omaha was instituted.
January 7, 1869. The first session of the Legislature at Lincoln was convened.
February 2, 1869. Omaha was declared to be a city of the first class by an act of the Legislature.
February 15, 1869. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature submitting the question of holding a constitutional convention to the people of the state.
March, 1869. The old territorial capitol building given to the City of Omaha for a high school.
May 10, 1869. The tracks of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads joined at Promontory Point, Utah.
July 7, 1870. Omaha was made a port of entry by an act of Congress and S. A. Orchard was appointed the first surveyor of customs.
October 15, 1870. The Omaha Smelting Company was organized.
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-, 1870. An electric alarm system installed for the Omaha Fire Depart- ment.
April 14, 1871. Name of the postoffice changed from "Omaha City" to "Omaha."
1871. The first meat packing establishment in Omaha opened by David Cook.
January 4, 1872. J. Sterling Morton's arbor day resolution adopted by the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture.
January 12, 1872. Grand Duke Alexis, of Russia, visited Omaha, while on his way to the plains for a buffalo hunt.
March 14, 1872. The first train crossed the Missouri River on the Union Pacific bridge.
April 10, 1872. First observation of Arbor Day in Nebraska.
May 1, 1872. The Omaha Public Library was opened.
June II, 1872. Publication offices of the Omaha Daily Bee were destroyed by fire.
February 26, 1873. The second proposal for a constitutional convention was submitted to the people by the Legislature.
April 13-16, 1873. One of the worst snow storms in the history of the West. Telegraph lines were torn down, traffic on the railroads was impeded, and there was heavy loss of both life and property.
--- -, 1874. The first United States postoffice building in Omaha was completed.
January 21, 1875. King Kalakaua of the Hawaiian Islands visited Omaha.
-, 1875. The first grain elevator in Omaha was built by McCormick, - Barriger & Davis.
November 1, 1875. President Ulysses S. Grant, accompanied by Mrs. Grant, some of the cabinet officers and others, visited Omaha.
January 8, 1875. The Nebraska State Bar Association was organized.
April 26, 1876. Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, with three of his royal advisers visited Omaha.
October 25, 1876. A meeting of the governors and scientists of the Western States was held at Omaha to devise means of exterminating the grasshoppers.
August 4, 1877. The two eastern spans of the Union Pacific Railroad bridge over the Missouri River were wrecked by a cyclone.
November 1, 1877. Employees of the Smelting Works struck against a reduction of wages. The matter was adjusted by arbitration on the 24th of the same montlı.
May 4, 1878. A vigilance committee of 150 members was organized at Omaha "to suppress crime."
September 24, 1878. The Grand Central, Omaha's finest hotel, was destroyed by fire.
April 30, 1879. The habeas corpus case of Standing Bear, a Ponca chief, and several members of his band was begun in the United States District Court at Omaha and attracted wide-spread attention.
July 10, 1879. The first telephone exchange in Omaha was opened.
July 20, 1879. The city authorities entered into a contract with the City
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Waterworks Company to construct a system of waterworks for Omaha. The water was turned on early in September, 1881.
November 3, 1879. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, ex-president of the United States, and his wife stopped at Omaha on their return from their journey around the world.
May 21, 1880. A riot at the Smelting Works resulted in Governor Nance's ordering out the militia to restore order.
September 3, 1880. President Rutherford B. Hayes, accompanied by Mrs. Hayes, Gen. W. T. Sherman and others, spent a few hours in Omaha, visiting Fort Omaha and other points of interest.
January 5, 1881. The Nebraska State Farmers' Alliance was organized.
February 6, 1881. An amendment to the state constitution, giving women the right of suffrage, was passed by the Legislature, but it was rejected by the people at the next general election.
April 7, 1881. Highest recorded stage of water in the Missouri Valley. At Omaha the river rose to twenty-three and a half feet above low-water mark.
June 4, 1881. The Omaha Medical College was incorporated.
March 4, 1882. A great strike of workmen on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad improvements was inaugurated.
-, 1882. The first asphalt pavement in Omaha was laid on Douglas Street, from Fourteenth to Sixteenth streets.
January 23, 1883. Omaha connected by telephone with Lincoln and Platts- mouth.
July 19, 1883. General strike of telegraph operators all over the United States.
December 1, 1883. The Omaha Union Stock Yards Company was organized.
August 13, 1884. The first shipment of cattle consigned to the Union Stock Yards arrived at South Omaha.
April 5, 1887. The round-house of the Missouri Pacific Railroad at Omaha was destroyed by fire.
October 12, 1887. President Grover Cleveland and his wife, accompanied by Mr. Cleveland's private secretary and some of his cabinet officers, spent a few hours in Omaha.
May 14, 1889. The first board of park commissioners for the City of Omaha was appointed.
August 1, 1889. Celebration of the opening of the new waterworks plant, which cost $1,500,000.
June 14, 1890. Buildings of the Carter White Lead Company destroyed by fire.
June 19, 1890. The corner-stone of the City Hall wa's laid by the Masonic Grand Lodge of Nebraska.
December 24, 1890. Henry M. Stanley, the famous African explorer, visited Omaha, where he had been a resident twenty-three years before. He was accom- panied by Mrs. Stanley.
March 9, 1891. Gibson, Miller & Richardson's printing house was destroyed by fire-loss $100,000.
May 13, 1891. President Benjamin Harrison and party visited Omaha. According to the newspapers of that date, the President addressed "a large and
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enthusiastic gathering from a speakers' stand at the corner of Seventeenth and Farnam streets."
May 2, 1892. The General National Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met in Omaha.
May 12, 1892. The north wing of the Douglas County Hospital and Poor House collapsed.
May 30, 1892. The John A. Creighton Medical College (the Medical Depart- ment of Creighton University) was founded.
December 4, 1894. The First Baptist Church, Fifteenth and Davenport streets, was destroyed by fire.
April 4, 1895. The goldenrod was adopted by the Legislature as Nebraska's floral emblem.
January 2, 1897. The Omaha Savings Bank failed, with liabilities of nearly one million dollars.
April 25, 1898. President William McKinley called on Nebraska for two regiments of volunteers for service in the Spanish-American war.
May 2, 1898. The First and Second regiments of the Nebraska National Guard were mustered into the United States service at Lincoln.
June 1, 1898. The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was opened with appropriate ceremonies.
September 12, 1898. Plant of the Rees Printing Company was burned to the ground, inflicting a loss of $125,000.
October 12, 1808. President William Mckinley visited Omaha and the Trans-Mississippi Exposition and was escorted from the railway station to the City Hall by the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben.
April 27, 1903. President Theodore Roosevelt visited Omaha and delivered an address at the auditorium.
February 1, 1906. Douglas County Association of Nebraska Pioneers was organized.
October 1, 1908. William H. Taft, republican candidate for the presidency, visited Omaha and addressed a large audience in the evening at the auditorium.
October 8, 1908. The University of Omaha was incorporated.
September 2, 1910. Theodore Roosevelt, ex-president of the United States spent the day in Omaha and in the evening was initiated into the Ak-Sar-Ben.
May 1, 1912. Omaha adopted the commission form of government.
July 1, 1912. The Omaha Waterworks were taken over by the city after a fifteen years' fight for municipal ownership.
September 20, 1912. Theodore Roosevelt again visited Omaha-this time as the progressive party's candidate for the presidency.
October 1, 1912. The present Douglas County courthouse occupied by the county officials for the first time.
October 5, 1912. Woodrow Wilson, democratic candidate for President of the United States, spoke at the auditorium in the afternoon.
March 23, 1913. A destructive, tornado swept over a portion of Omaha, causing the death of 140 people, the injury of 400 others, and a property loss of several millions of dollars.
June 10, 1915. Governor Morehead issued his proclamation declaring South Omaha and Dundee a part of the City of Omaha.
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July 9, 1915. The Liberty Bell, of Philadelphia, Penn., was on exhibition on Jackson Street, between Ninth and Tenth streets, while on its way to the San Francisco Exposition.
August 2, 1915. The Auditorium, on the southeast corner of Fifteenth and Howard streets, became the property of the city.
September 27, 1916. Charles W. Fairbanks, former Vice President of the United States and republican candidate for that office, spoke at the Commercial Club at noon and at the auditorium in the evening.
October 5, 1916. President Woodrow Wilson attended the Nebraska Semi- Centennial celebration at Omaha. He reviewed the industrial parade of the Ak-Sar-Ben in the afternoon and delivered an address at the auditorium in the evening.
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