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Winter Quarters was an encampment formed by approximately 2,500 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they waited during the winter of 1846–47 for better conditions for their trek westward. It followed a preliminary tent settlement some 3½ miles west at Cutler's Park. Members of the LDS faith built more than 800 cabins at the Winter Quarters settlement. Located in present-day North Omaha overlooking the Missouri River, the settlement remained populated until 1848.
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the east, as defined by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
The Mormon Bridge is a bridge composed of two cantilevers that crosses the Missouri River connecting Pottawattamie County, Iowa with the Florence neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska via Interstate 680 (Iowa-Nebraska). The bridge is officially called the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge due to its location on the historic Mormon Trail, which passed nearby.
North Omaha, Nebraska has a recorded history spanning over 200 years, pre-dating the rest of Omaha, encompassing wildcat banks, ethnic enclaves, race riots and social change. North Omaha has roots back to 1812 and the founding of Fort Lisa. It includes the Mormon settlement of Cutler's Park and Winter Quarters in 1846, a lynching before the turn of the twentieth century, the thriving 24th Street community of the 1920s, the bustling development of its African-American community through the 1950s, a series of riots in the 1960s, and redevelopment in the late 20th and early 21st century.
Significant events in the history of North Omaha, Nebraska include the Pawnee, Otoe and Sioux 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.
Fort Lisa (1812–1823) was established in 1812 in what is now North Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska by famed fur trader Manuel Lisa and the Missouri Fur Company, which was based in Saint Louis. The fort was associated with several firsts in Nebraska history: Lisa was the first European farmer in Nebraska; it was the first settlement by American citizens set up in the then-recent Louisiana Purchase; Lisa's wife was the first woman resident of European descent in Nebraska; and the first steamboat to navigate Nebraska waters, the Western Engineer, arrived at Fort Lisa in September 1819.
Saratoga Springs, Nebraska Territory, or Saratoga, was a boom and bust town founded in 1856 that thrived for several years. During its short period of influence the town grew quickly, outpacing other local settlements in the area including Omaha and Florence, and briefly considered as a candidate for the Nebraska Territorial capitol. Saratoga was annexed into Omaha in 1887, and has been regarded a neighborhood in North Omaha since then.
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 neighborhoods of Omaha are a diverse collection of community areas and specific enclaves. They are spread throughout the Omaha metro area, and are all on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River.
The Miller Park neighborhood in North Omaha, Nebraska, is a historically significant community housing a historic district and several notable historic places. It is located between Sorenson Parkway on the south and Redick Avenue on the north, Florence Boulevard on the east and 30th Street on the west. The Minne Lusa neighborhood borders on the north, and the Saratoga neighborhood is on the south. Fort Omaha borders the neighborhood on the west. Miller Park is the namesake park in the neighborhood, as well as the Miller Park Elementary School. In 2017, the Miller Park/Minne Lusa area was ranked as having the 2nd highest rate of homicides and other violent crimes out of 81 Omaha neighborhoods.
The Mormon Pioneer Cemetery is located at 3300 State Street in present-day Florence at the north end of Omaha, Nebraska. The Cemetery is the burial site of hundreds of Mormon pioneers who lived in Winter Quarters, a temporary settlement that lasted from 1846 to 1848 as the settlers moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. It was designated a landmark by the City of Omaha in 1990.
Florence Mill, also known as the Weber Mill, is a historic mill located at 9102 North 30th Street near the 30th Street exit on I-680 in the Florence community in North Omaha, Nebraska. It was built in 1846 and operated into the 1960s. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Weber Mill in 1998. The mill is also known as the Mormon Mill, Grist Mill, and Old Pink Mill. It is now operated as the Winter Quarters Mill Museum and ArtLoft Gallery.
The Potter's Field Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is located on a 5-acre (20,000 m2) plot of land at 5000 Young Street near the intersections of Young Street and Mormon Bridge Road. Like all Potter's Fields, it was used to bury poor people or people with no known identity from across the Omaha area. The cemetery was active from 1887 to 1957.
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, also known as Forest Lawn Cemetery, is located at 7909 Mormon Bridge Road in North Omaha, Nebraska. It was established in 1885 when the mutual Forest Lawn Cemetery Association was donated 100 acres (0.40 km2) in northwest of the city. In 1886, the first interment in the cemetery was the donor of the land, John H. Brackin. Forest Lawn is Omaha's largest cemetery and the burial location of many of Omaha's second generation of leadership.
The Florence School is located at 7902 North 36th Street in the Florence neighborhood of north Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The first school in the Florence area was built in the 1840s, in what was then called Cutler's Park by Mormon pioneers. The present-day Florence Elementary School was started in the late 1850s after the town of Florence was founded.
The Florence Park is a city-owned public park in the Florence neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska. Located at North 30th and State Streets, it is the oldest park and the oldest original town square in Nebraska, having been created by the original pioneers of the area in the 1840s. In the southern end of the park there is an official Nebraska State Historical Marker that tells the story of Winter Quarters, the 1840s settlement in the area. For many years a large cottonwood tree in the park featured a plaque that proclaimed its usage by Brigham Young as a hitching post.
North 30th Street is a two-way street that runs south–north in the North Omaha area of Omaha, Nebraska. With the street beginning at Dodge Street, historically significant sections include those from Dodge to Lake Street, from Fort Street to Laurel Avenue, and from Weber to Bondesson Streets.
The Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters is a museum and visitors' center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in the Florence neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The museum interprets the story of the Mormon Trail along with the history of a temporary Mormon settlement known as Winter Quarters, which was located in the Florence area between 1846–1848.
Florence was a historic municipality in Nebraska. Founded in 1854, the Nebraska Territory Legislature first incorporated it as a town in 1855 and then incorporated it as a city in 1857. In 1917, it was annexed by the City of Omaha and ceased to exist as an independent municipality. Since then it has been a neighborhood located in North Omaha.
References
- ↑ "Greater Omaha", Greater Omaha Chamber. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ↑ "Heritage tourism may define future of Florence" Archived 2008-09-07 at the Wayback Machine , Omaha by Design. Retrieved 9/18/08.
- ↑ Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska - Douglas County
- ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 127.
- ↑ Reeves, R. (n.d.) Douglas County History Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine University of Nebraska.
- ↑ [https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/city-of-omaha-gathering-feedback-on-addressing-traffic-troubles-in-florence "Omaha residents give feedback on fixing traffic troubles in Florence," KMTV (May 20, 2022). Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ↑ "Florence Streetscape". OmahaStormWater.org. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ↑ "Greater Omaha", Greater Omaha Chamber. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ↑ "About", Florence Futures Foundation. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- 1 2 "Omaha Park and Boulevard System". National Park Service. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
- ↑ Federal Writers Project, Nebraska: A Guide to the Cornhusker State, Nebraska State Historical Society, (1939) Online full-text PDF edition, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Retrieved 6/28/10.
- ↑ "Parish history" Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine , St. Philip Neri Church of Omaha, Retrieved 6/4/08.
- ↑ "A Directory of Historic Places in Florence, Nebraska" by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com.