HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG2157.AM: Lincoln Traction Company (Lincoln, Neb.)
Ephemera: 1912-1913, n.d.
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Neb.: Transportation company
Size: Two items
BACKGROUND NOTE
The Fitzgerald brothers (John, W. Ralph, E. Roy, Ed, and Kent) were raised on their father’s farm near Staplehurst, Seward County, Nebraska. After observing the trend in many cities to replace trolley lines with buses, the brothers formed city bus lines in several mid-western cities. Their company became a subsidiary of a large national transportation group, National City Lines, Inc., and American City Lines, Inc.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection contains a Lincoln Traction Company poster in red, black, gold, and white, titled “Historical Background of Your Company.” A detailed history of the development of the company under the leadership of the five Fitzgerald brothers is prominently featured, along with their portraits and photographs of four buses. Also included is a promotional Christmas booklet dating from 1912-1913.
Note: The photo component [RG2157.PH] includes photographs of Lincoln’s street cars (before and after the conversion to electricity), from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s. Included are employee photographs with identification, the first horse-drawn car and driver in the city, and a photograph of a streetcar crossing the West O Street bridge in Lincoln, ca. 1907.
INVENTORY
Item
- Lincoln Traction Company poster
- Christmas booklet, 1912-1913
Subject headings:
Bus lines — Nebraska
Fitzgerald family
Lincoln Traction Company (Lincoln, Neb.)
Lincoln (Neb.) — Businesses
Local transit — Nebraska
KFK 02-13-2004
Revised TMM 01-30-2024