Omaha

What We Found

Dan Desdunes: New Orleans Civil Rights Activist and “The Father of Negro Musicians of Omaha”

  Jazz critic and historian George Lipsitz has observed that "established histories of jazz tend to focus on a select group of individual geniuses in only a ...

A Midsummer Christmas Eve

This Christmas card from 1880 depicted a warm-weather scene similar to one actually experienced by Omahans on December 24 in 1889. Freakish weather is not unique ...

“Sane Thanksgiving” Advised by Omaha Mayor

More than a month before the official Thanksgiving holiday in 1909, the Omaha Daily News on October 24 published the plea of mayor James C. Dahlman for what he called a ...

Ann Lowe and the Intriguing Couture Tradition of Ak-Sar-Ben

  How could such a prominent fashion designer remain so unknown to the public? Ann Lowe’s fairytale-like gowns appeared in magazines, at the Academy ...

Nebraska Corn Helps Win the War

Farm Crop Processing Corporation's alcohol plant, Fourth & Jones streets, Omaha. NSHS RG1963-14 In a blog post a few years ago we showcased the gas station operated ...

Lest We Forget: The Lynching of Will Brown, Omaha’s 1919 Race Riot

A riot-crazed mob stormed the burning Douglas County Courthouse on September 28, 1919, and lynched an African American, Will Brown. The victim, accused of raping a white ...

Did Claude Nethaway murder his wife and frame an innocent man?

By David L. Bristow, Editor Content Warning: This post quotes offensive, racist language and includes a detailed depiction of a murder scene. His business card ...

Omaha’s Lillie Williams became a professional bicycle racer in 1889

Starting in the high-wheel bicycle era, Lillie Williams of Omaha became a multi-sport professional athlete at a time when women’s sports were widely regarded as improper ...

A Farm Boy Comes to Omaha, 1888

"I guess there ain’t any end to Omaha,” wrote sixteen-year-old Frisby Rasp in a letter to his parents in 1888. “You can walk till you are tired out in any direction you ...

1976: Omaha’s Court-Ordered Integration (Part Two)

In an earlier post we looked at how a 1975 court order addressed Omaha Public Schools’ racial imbalance by requiring the reassignment of students to new schools and bus ...

1976: Omaha’s Court-Ordered Integration (Part One)

The Omaha Public School District was forced to face its racial imbalance and produced an integration plan that would reassign students to new schools and bus routes. ...

Nebraska’s First Jewish Newspaper

By Breanna Fanta, Editorial Assistant (2021) “Newspapers are said to be the first draft of history.” A short-lived twentieth-century newspaper now provides ...

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History Nebraska was founded in 1878 as the Nebraska State Historical Society by citizens who recognized Nebraska was going through great changes and they sought to record the stories of both indigenous and immigrant peoples. It was designated a state institution and began receiving funds from the legislature in 1883. Legislation in 1994 changed History Nebraska from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Interim Director and CEO Jill Dolberg. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for History Nebraska.
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