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The Story
On July 29th, 1867, three men sat down in a private home in Lancaster, Nebraska, a settlement of fewer than fifty people and voted to make it the capital of the state. Twenty-two years later, that same ground was home to fifty thousand people, seventy factories, eighty wholesale houses, and thirty-one miles of streetcar track.
In this episode, I take you on a walk starting at the spot where it began, then through Lincoln's Haymarket district, tracing the city that grew out of a prairie vote. Along the way, the first federal building built from Platte River limestone, an Omaha businessman who bet on Lincoln and an impressive overview of what those first twenty-two years of life brought to the Capital city.
Happy Anniversary, Lincoln!
This is part of the Iron & Power series. If you missed the first two, start with The Cheyenne Ring: Cattle Country's Power, and The Capital Ring: Power of the Platte.
For then-and-now photos, maps, and glimpses of the past, follow @rootedintheplains on Instagram.
Want to learn more?
Davies, Russ, and Robert E. Gallamore. "On the Spur to the Dome: How the Mile-Long Lincoln, Haitch Street & Capitol Railway Helped Build Nebraska's Monumental Tower on the Plains." Railroad History, no. 204 (2011): 52–63.
Hayes, A.B., and Samuel D. Cox. History of the City of Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln, NE: State Journal Company Printers, 1889.
The Founding of Lincoln Sign is located at 14th & O Streets. on the West side of Sandy’s Bar
