The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally known as the University of Omaha. Originally meant to provide a Christian-based education free from ecclesiastical control, the university served as a strong alternative to the city's many successful religiously-affiliated institutions.
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.
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.
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.
Education in Omaha, Nebraska is provided by many private and public institutions. The first high school graduates in the Omaha area came from Brownell-Talbot School, which was founded in the town of Saratoga in 1863. The oldest school building in continuous usage is Omaha Central High School.
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.
Kountze Park is an urban public park located at 1920 Pinkney Street in the Kountze Place neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. The Park is historically significant as the site of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898.
Culture in North Omaha, Nebraska, the north end of Omaha, is defined by socioeconomic, racial, ethnic and political diversity among its residents. The neighborhood's culture is largely influenced by its predominantly African American community.
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's historic African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area. Originally established immediately after Omaha was founded in 1854, the Near North Side was once confined to the area around Dodge Street and North 7th Street. Eventually, it gravitated west and north, and today it is bordered by Cuming Street on the south, 30th on the west, 16th on the east, and Locust Street to the north. Countless momentous events in Omaha's African American community happened in the Near North Side, including the 1865 establishment of the first Black church in Omaha, St. John's AME; the 1892 election of the first African American state legislator, Dr. Matthew Ricketts; the 1897 hiring of the first Black teacher in Omaha, Ms. Lucy Gamble, the 1910 Jack Johnson riots, the Omaha race riot of 1919 that almost demolished the neighborhood and many other events.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is located at 2206 Binney Street in the Kountze Place neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha.
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.
Scriptown was the name of the first subdivision in the history of Omaha, which at the time was located in Nebraska Territory. It was called "Scriptown" because scrip was used as payment, similar to how a company would pay employees when regular money was unavailable. Its original survey placed the location from the Missouri River to North 30th Street, Cuming to Fort Street.
The Minne Lusa Residential Historic District is located in North Omaha, Nebraska. It is included on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the National Park Service, it is an "example of a substantial, affordable single-family residential development within the city limits that was platted, developed and constructed by a single firm between 1915 and 1941." The neighborhood is filled with bungalows, Craftsman, and other styles that were popular in the era. There are 540 properties in the neighborhood that contribute to the historic district, the other 167 do not. Minne Lusa Boulevard is a contributing structure.
Herman Kountze was a powerful and influential pioneer banker in Omaha, Nebraska, during the late 19th century. After organizing the Kountze Brothers Bank in 1857 as the second bank in Omaha, Herman and his brothers Augustus, Charles and Luther changed the charter in 1863, opening the First National Bank of Omaha that year. Kountze was involved in a number of influential ventures around Omaha, including the development of the Omaha Stockyards and the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898. Immediately after his death Kountze was regarded as one of Omaha's "old settlers". Today Kountze's First National Bank is the oldest bank west of the Mississippi River, and continues as a privately held company in its sixth generation of family ownership.
The Redick Mansion, also known as the Mayne Mansion and Redick Hall, was located at 3612 North 24th Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. It served as the first home of Omaha University, now known as the University of Nebraska at Omaha, from 1909 through 1917. A five-story tower on the front of the mansion was a notable landmark throughout the area.
North 24th Street is a two-way street that runs south–north in the North Omaha area of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. With the street beginning at Dodge Street, the historically significant section of the street runs from Cuming Street to Ames Avenue. A portion of North 24th near Lake Street is considered the "Main Street" of the Near North Side, and was historically referred to as "The Street of Dreams." The corridor is widely considered the heart of Omaha's African-American community.
Significant events in the history of Omaha, Nebraska, include social, political, cultural, and economic activities.
