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East Omaha, Nebraska

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East Omaha is a geographically designated community located in Omaha, Nebraska. Located three milies from downtown Omaha, East Omaha is the site of Eppley Airfield, Omaha’s main airport, and Carter Lake. This area was Omaha's first annexation, joining the city in 1854[1]

Boundaries

Due to the changing nature of Omaha's design, recognition of the boundaries of East Omaha has fluctuated through the years. Early reports about East Omaha identified it closely with the Union Pacific Railroad yards just north of downtown. The boundary moved north over the years, and today is loosely fixed along Florence Boulevard to the west, the Missouri River to the east, the Omaha Public Power District Plant to the north, and Carter Lake, Iowa to the south. However, even these boundaries are in flux, as the Omaha Chamber of Commerce has taken to refering to any area east of 72nd street as "east Omaha".[2]

On its north edge, East Omaha was home to the Beechwood community. In 1948 the Beechwood School District joined Omaha Public Schools[3], almost completely eliminating all traces of the Beechwood community. However, the community is still noted on maps.

Modern times

Environment

Industry has left terrible environmental impacts on East Omaha. A recent report named East Omaha "one of the most dangerous toxic waste sites in the nation" after the EPA showed that more than 2,600 children in the area have lead poisoning[4]. In early 2003, a large section of East Omaha was declared a Superfund site after thousands of yards tested positive for high levels of lead contamination resulting from a nearby lead smeltering plant that operated for more than a century.[5]

Social

The Omaha Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America held its first Motorcycle Show and Swap Meet at the Four “T” Service shop in East Omaha in 1979[6].

History

Timeline

  • 1853 - First claim placed on East Omaha
  • 1854 - East Omaha annexed by the City of Omaha
  • 1880s - East Omaha cleared and house lots offered for sale
  • 1887 - Sherman School founded
  • 1890 - Most expensive Nebraska land deal to date occurs in East Omaha
  • 1896 - Omaha loses Carter Lake-area to Iowa in U.S. Supreme Court case
  • 1897 - East Omaha considered for Trans-Mississippi Exhibition
  • 1913 - Easter Sunday tornado obliterates East Omaha
  • 1947 - Floods destroy many homes in area

Pioneers

In 1853, Edmond Jefferies filed a claim on 30 acres of land in what was known as East Omaha.[7]

Residences

East Omaha was an early Omaha suburb dating from the late 1800s. It was founded by the CB&Q railroad’s East Omaha Land Company, which spent a total of $300,000 to clear the low-lying land of willows and grade streets before lots were offered for sale[8]. The Ames family of Boston, Massachusetts were early investors responsible for platting the area[9] and dealing with the ever-changing Missouri River[10]. However, one 1937 plat map entirely dismisses the residential and commercial district of East Omaha, instead focusing on the then-underdeveloped area surrounding Eppley Airfield[11].

Commerce

East Omaha has an interesting commercial history. The largest single real estate deal in Nebraska up to 1890 is said to have occured there. That year an unknown property in East Omaha was sold to the Omaha Bridge and Terminal company, a subsidiary of the Illinois Central, for nearly $700,000[12]. The south end of East Omaha was home to the Union Pacific Rail Yards, with one former hobo reporting that he tricked a railroad cop, also called "railroad dicks"[13], with his clothing,

"“I even talked to a known bad dick in the yards in East Omaha, and he treated me like a brother while at the same time he was looking around for a hobo to arrest for trespassing on railroad property. I thought to myself, Good old clothes, a little deception is a wonderful thing."[14]

East Omaha, east of Carter Lake, was the preferred site for the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition of 1897.[15] However, it ended up loosing out to a site in North Omaha. Around this time the area was home to numerous businesses important to Omaha's growth, with early examples including a hominy mill and a plaster mill[16]. The Carter White Lead Company built a large scale plant in East Omaha[17].

Schools

Schools have long played an important role in East Omaha's identity, with the most important being Sherman Elementary School, which is part of Omaha Public Schools. Sherman's history extends back to 1887; at its largest the school had almost 600 students in grades kindergarten through eight. Other important schools in the area included Beechwood Elementary School, part of the now-defunct Beechwood School District, and Pershing Elementary School, once located at East 26th & Adams Street[18]. The community was almost home to Saint Therese School located at N. 16th& Ogden[19].

Recreation

In the late 1800s the East Omaha Lake (also called Cut-Off Lake and Lake Nakoma) was renamed after the founder of the Carter Lead Co., and is still called Carter Lake. The surrounding park was home to sailing events, Bungalow City, the Omaha Gun Club, and a YMCA Camp as late as the 1930s[20]. In 1896 the United States Supreme Court ruled that Carter Lake, which was originally an arm of the Missouri River, belonged to the State of Iowa[21].

Weather

East Omaha was adversely affected by the the Easter Sunday tornado of 1913, which destroyed many businesses and neighborhoods.[22] As many as 1,000 people were reported as being displaced by a flood in 1943, which sent the Missouri River, Carter Lake, and the old Florence Lake into peoples' homes and businesses throughout East Omaha[23]. When the tornado crossed Sherman Avenue (16th Street) the path extended from Binney street on the south to Emmet street on the north. Scarcely anything was left intact. The tornado devasted the Missouri Pacific roundhouse and went across Carter Lake and the East Omaha bottoms. When it crossed the lake the twister "sucked the water high into the air, a real water spout. The cottages along the lake were mostly destroyed, the Illinois Central trestle obliterated and scores of store buildings wrecked. At this point the width of the path is said to have been nearly half a mile wide."[24]

Locations of interest

  • Sherman Community Center - Home to recreational activities and meeting space for East Omaha for more than 20 years.
  • Carter Lake Park
  • Open Door Mission - The Open Door Mission, an Omaha institution since the 1950s, was relocated to 2706 North 21st Street East in 1986.
  • USS Hazard - This former US warship is permanently berthed at the Omaha Marina in East Omaha. She is maintained as a World War II museum and memorial.
  • Omaha Correctional Center - The OCC is a medium/minimum security facility located on a 37-acre site in East Omaha, just south of Epply Airfield.
  • Eppley Airfield - Omaha's airport.

References

  1. ^ (n.d.) Annexation and Growth..
  2. ^ (2006) "Let Your Voice Be Heard: Legislative Forum: East Omaha Senators" Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
  3. ^ (n.d.) Sherman School History
  4. ^ Eilperin, J. (2004) Lack of Funding Slows Cleanup Of Hundreds of Superfund Sites. Washington Post Thursday, November 25, 2004; Page A01
  5. ^ Hein, J (2006) House Passes Terry’s Bipartisan Amendment to Help Protect Children from Lead Poisoning Office of Congressman Terry Lee.
  6. ^ Omaha Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America website
  7. ^ (n.d.)City of Carter Lake, Iowa History
  8. ^ (n.d.) Omaha Timeline 1880-1889 Douglas County Historical Society
  9. ^ 1928 Plat Map of East Omaha Stonehill Industrial History Center at Stonehill College
  10. ^ East Omaha Land Stonehill Industrial History Center at Stonehill College
  11. ^ (1937) East Omaha Plat Map
  12. ^ http://www.historicomaha.com/chap14.htm
  13. ^ (n.d.) Dictionary of Old Hobo Slang
  14. ^ Fox, C. (1989) Tales of an American Hobo. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, p. 118.
  15. ^ (1989) Locating the Exposition] Omaha Public Library.
  16. ^ (1890). Nebraska State Gazetteer, Business Directory and Farmers List for 1890-91. J.M. Wolfe & Co.
  17. ^ (1890) Nebraska State Gazetteer Business Directory & Farmer's List
  18. ^ (n.d.) Sherman History Sherman Elementary School.
  19. ^ (n.d.) Douglas County Schools
  20. ^ (n.d.) Carter Lake Park City of Omaha Parks, Recreation, and Arts Department.
  21. ^ (n.d.) Omaha Timeline 1880-1889 Douglas County Historical Society
  22. ^ Sing, T (2003) Omaha's Easter Tornado of 1913. Arcadia Publishing.
  23. ^ Neuman, R. (2003) Historic Floods on the Missouri River: Fighting the Big Muddy in Nebraska Nebraska Department of Natural Resources.
  24. ^ (n.d.) Story of the Great Plains Flood and Cyclone Disaster
  • Anonymous (1890) Rise and Fall of Cut-off. Omaha Sunday Bee 19(342): 9. - An editorial remorsing the transformation of now-Carter Lake.
  • Birds of Nebraska - Includes several stories about birding and nature in East Omaha.
  • Omaha Lead - EPA's Superfund information webpage about East Omaha.
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