History of Omaha, Nebraska
The history of Omaha, Nebraska, began before the settlement of the city, with speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa staking land across the Missouri River illegally as early as the 1840s. When it was legal to claim land in Indian Country, William D. Brown was operating the Lone Tree Ferry to bring settlers from Council Bluffs to Omaha. A treaty with the Omaha Tribe allowed the creation of the Nebraska Territory, and Omaha City was founded on July 4, 1854. With early settlement came claim jumpers and squatters, and the formation of a vigilante law group called the Omaha Claim Club, which was one of many claim clubs across the Midwest. During this period many of the city's founding fathers received lots in Scriptown, which was made possible by the actions of the Omaha Claim Club. The club's violent actions were challenged successfully in a case ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, Baker v. Morton, which led to the end of the organization.
The Hotel Fontenelle, formerly located in downtown Omaha.
The Mormon settlement known as Cutler's Park, located in the Florence area in the 1840s.
Omaha Central High School sits on the site of the old capitol building on capital hill in Downtown Omaha.
Night view of the Grand Court. Photograph by Frank Rinehart, 1898.
Omaha is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 10 mi (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 40th-most populous city, Omaha's 2020 census population was 486,051.
Image: City of Omaha, Nebraska Skyline on the Missouri River (30899969517)
Image: Fort Omaha
Image: USS Hazard at Freedom Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (2)
Image: Omaha Union Station (48440374712)