Prospect Hill Cemetery (North Omaha, Nebraska)
| Prospect Hill Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1856 |
| Location | |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Coordinates | 41°16′41″N 95°57′36″W / 41.278°N 95.960°W |
| Type | Public |
| Owned by | Prospect Hill Cemetery Historical Site Development Foundation |
| Size | 13.84 acres (5.60 ha) |
| No. of graves | 15,000 |
| Website | www.prospecthill-omaha.org |
| Designated | June 19, 1979[1] |
The Prospect Hill Cemetery, located at 3202 Parker Street in the Prospect Hill neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska, USA, is believed to be the oldest pioneer cemetery in Omaha.[1] It is between 31st and 33rd Streets and Parker and Grant Streets.
History
While laying out "Shinn's Addition" northwest of Omaha in 1856, Moses F. Shinn set aside 10 acres (40,000 m2) for a cemetery on land where Native Americans and Mormons had reportedly been buried earlier.[2] The location was reportedly one mile from the Mormon Trail. That year he sold the land to Byron Reed, an early Omaha real estate broker.[3] Jesse Lowe, the first mayor of Omaha, set aside those 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land for burial purposes in 1858. The new cemetery included a variety of lands, including the city original cemeteries called Cedar Hills and Omaha City Cemeteries. Parts of those cemeteries are still in Prospect Hill boundaries.[4]
The cemetery's first official burial was in June 1858. Alonzo F. Salisbury, Omaha pioneer and member of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature, was the first person buried there. Early Omaha real estate agent Byron Reed ran the cemetery early, and sold it with the establishment of the Prospect Hill Cemetery Association in 1858. The next year, 1859, the cemetery grew to 20 acres (81,000 m2). The site of the Cemetery was further made available after the 1870 trial of Baker v. Morton, in which courts ruled against Omaha's land barons and the city's claim club. The land was enlarged again in 1890, when the Prospect Hill Cemetery Association was founded. Soon Prospect Hill was 35 acres (140,000 m2).
Many of Omaha's early business leaders and politicians are buried in the cemetery.[5] There were approximately 15,000 burials recorded at Prospect Hill, including those of many Omaha pioneers, including influential developers, religious leaders, mayors, judges, and benefactors, for whom Omaha streets, parks and schools were named.[6] The cemetery has many interesting monuments and a special section for soldiers from Fort Omaha, and it also has graves for at least 360 early African American Omahans.[7]
In the 1880s the Forest Lawn Cemetery opened seven miles (11 km) from Prospect Hill, and eventually Reed sold Prospect Hill to the Forest Lawn Cemetery Association.
Prospect Hill was designated a landmark by the City of Omaha in 1979. There is a chapel constructed of rough brick and accented in stone, and a Tudor-Revival gatehouse located on Parker Street. The cemetery was designated as a local landmark in 1979.[8]
Notable interments
Many of Omaha's pioneer families are buried at Prospect Hill. Some of the family names include Deuel, Gaylord, Hall, Hanscom, Kennard, Krug, Lake, Lowe, McCague, Metz, Redick, and Reed. There are also many other notable people interred at Prospect Hill. There are also monuments to Spanish–American War veterans and the gravesite of at least one Buffalo Soldier, Sergeant Allen McClare.
| Name | Place of birth | Date of birth | Occupation | Place of death | Date of death | Notes and References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algernon Paddock | Glens Falls, New York | November 9, 1830 | Delegate to Republican National Convention from Nebraska, 1860; secretary of Nebraska Territory, 1861–67; acting Governor of Nebraska Territory, 1861; U.S. Senator from Nebraska, 1875–81, 1887–93. | Beatrice, Nebraska | October 17, 1897 | |
| Augustus Hall | Batavia, New York | April 29, 1814 | Lawyer; U.S. Representative from Iowa 1st District, 1855–57; justice of Nebraska territorial supreme court, 1858–61; chief justice of Nebraska territorial supreme court, 1858–61 | Bellevue, Nebraska | February 1, 1861 | Died in office; Hall County, Nebraska is named for him. |
| Phineas Hitchcock | New Lebanon, New York | November 30, 1831 | Delegate to Republican National Convention from Nebraska, 1860; Delegate to U.S. Congress from Nebraska Territory, 1865–67; U.S. Senator from Nebraska, 1871–77 | Omaha | July 10, 1881 | Hitchcock County, Nebraska is named for him. |
| Joseph Millard | Hamilton, Ontario | April 20, 1836 | Mayor of Omaha, 1872–73; U.S. Senator from Nebraska, 1901–07 | Omaha | January 13, 1922 | |
| John B. Hawley | Hawleyville, Connecticut | February 9, 1831 | U.S. Representative from Illinois, 1869–75 (4th District 1869–73, 6th District 1873–75) | Died May 24, 1895. | Omaha | |
| John Taffe | Indianapolis, Indiana | January 30, 1827 | Newspaper editor; member of Nebraska territorial House of Representatives, 1858–59; member Nebraska territorial council, 1860–61; major in the Union Army during the Civil War; U.S. Representative from Nebraska at-large, 1867–73 | North Platte, Nebraska | March 14, 1884 | Founder, Omaha Public Library |
| Charles O. Lobeck | Andover, Illinois | April 6, 1852 | Member of Nebraska state senate, 1893; Presidential Elector for Nebraska, 1900; U.S. Representative from Nebraska 2nd District, 1911–19. | Omaha | January 30, 1920 | |
| Eleazer Wakeley | Homer, New York | June 15, 1822 | Lawyer; member of Wisconsin territorial House of Representatives, 1847–48; member of Wisconsin Senate, 1851–55; justice of Nebraska territorial supreme court, 1857–61; delegate to Nebraska state constitutional convention, 1871; district judge in Nebraska 3rd District, 1883–92; appointed 1883 | Omaha | November 21, 1912 | |
| William James Connell | Cowansville, Quebec | July 6, 1846 | U.S. Representative from Nebraska's 1st congressional district, 1889–91 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | August 16, 1924 | |
| George Robert Armstrong | August 1, 1819 | Mayor of Omaha, 1858–59, 1861–62 | Omaha | April 20, 1896 | ||
| Ezra Millard | February 2, 1833 | Mayor of Omaha, 1869–71 | Omaha | August 20, 1886 | ||
| Reuben H. Wilbur | April 26, 1825 | Mayor of Omaha, 1877–79 | Omaha | April 4, 1896 | ||
| Clinton Briggs | October 17, 1828 | Member of Nebraska territorial House of Representatives, 1858; mayor of Omaha, 1860–61; delegate to Nebraska state constitutional convention, 1875. | Iowa | December 19, 1882 | Hit by a train and died. | |
| Smith Samuel Caldwell | September 4, 1834 | Mayor of Omaha, 1871–72 | Omaha | June 26, 1884 | ||
| Andrew Jackson Poppleton | July 24, 1830 | Mayor of Omaha, 1858 | Omaha | September 24, 1896 | ||
| William M. Brewer | Mayor of Omaha, 1873–74 | Omaha | September 12, 1921 | |||
| Frederick Metz | Germany | Founder, Metz Brewery; member of Nebraska state senate, 1871–72, 1885–86 | Omaha | 1901 | ||
| John T. Paulsen | Ockholm, Germany | April 25, 1837 | Member of Nebraska state senate, 1889 | Omaha | September 3, 1889 | |
| George P. Anthes | Frankfurt, Germany | October 30, 1856 | Candidate in primary for Nebraska state auditor, 1908 | Omaha | June 15, 1936 | |
| Alonzo F. Salisbury | Vermont | Stagecoach driver; miller; member of Nebraska territorial House of Representatives, 1856. | Omaha | October 4, 1858 | First burial in Prospect Hill Cemetery | |
| Thomas B. Cuming | Secretary of Nebraska Territory, 1854–58; Governor of Nebraska Territory, 1854–55, 1857–58. | Omaha | March 23, 1858 | Original interment at a private or family graveyard, Douglas County, Neb.; subsequent interment at Prospect Hill Cemetery; re-interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Cuming County, Nebraska is named for him. | ||
| Jesse Lowe | March 11, 1814 | Mayor of Omaha, 1857–58. | Omaha | April 3, 1868 | Original interment at Cedar Hill Cemetery (which no longer exists); re-interment in 1891 at Forest Lawn Cemetery; cenotaph at Prospect Hill Cemetery. | |
| Anna Wilson | May 27, 1835 | Brothel owner | Omaha | October 27, 1911 | A polished stone in the dimensions of a king-size bed with four posts rests over the double graves of Wilson and Dan Allen. | |
| Byron Reed | Darien, New York | March 12, 1829 | Real estate businessman | Omaha | June 6, 1891 | |
| Frederick Krug | Germany | 1855 | Founder, Krug Brewery | Omaha | November 18, 1930 | |
| Dan Allen | New York | 1832 | Gambler, businessman | Omaha | April 1884 | |
| Origen D. Richardson | Vermont | July 20, 1795 | Fourth Lieutenant Governor of Michigan | Omaha | November 29, 1876 | [9] |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Prospect Hill Cemetery". Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^ Douglas County. Andreas' history of Nebraska. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
- ^ Omaha's first century, Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
- ^ (nd) Historic Prospect Hill - Omaha's Pioneer Cemetery. Nebraska Department of Education. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
- ^ (n.d.) Historic Prospect Hill - Omaha's Pioneer Cemetery Nebraska Historical Society.
- ^ (nd) About Prospect Hill Cemetery. Omaha Public Schools. Retrieved June 25, 2007.
- ^ (1981) Project Prospect: A youth investigation of blacks buried at Prospect Cemetery Girls Club of Omaha.
- ^ (n.d.) Prospect Cemetery Omaha Public Schools. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
- ^ Thaddeus D. Seeley (1912). History of Oakland County Michigan. Thaddeus D. Seeley. p. 128.
Further reading
- Baumann, L. Martin, C., Simpson, S. (199) Omaha's Historic Prospect Hill Cemetery: A History of Prospect Hill Cemetery with Biographical Notes on Over 1400 People Interred Therein. Prospect Hill Cemetery Historical Development Foundation.
External links
- Photo of the Nebraska State Historical Marker
- Historic Prospect Hill - Omaha's Pioneer Cemetery] Nebraska State Historical Society website
- FindAGrave.Com - Prospect Hill Cemetery
- Prospect Hill Cemetery - City of Omaha Landmarks Commission
- Prospect Hill Cemetery - Official Prospect Hill Cemetery Website
