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illEN the guests of Omaha hotols used t
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bo called to dinner by the ringing of
the good old bells of blessed memory
those were the days when the corners
now occupied by towering building!
furnished space whereon to erect com
it'
fortable dwellings.
There is not a prominent corner in the metro
politan city as it looms today but was occupied by
the homo of tome early citizen of modest substance.
Some of them never lived to soe the development
they dreamed of, but others did. Among these is
Senator Joseph H. Millard. He presides today in a
palatial bank, standing on the very spot where his
home was for many years. Th home itself, as will
be noted, was quite pretentious for those days and
still stands, a good deal altered and Improved, at
Twentieth and Harney streets
"In those days the built-up portion of Omaha
ended about Eighteenth street." said Senator Mil
lard. "Above Seventeenth street very few buildlng3
were to be seen. The home ot Edward Uosewater
was on the comer where the Bee building now stands,
and A. J. Simpson had built on the hill which occu
pied the place of the present court house. Dr. Enos
Lowe, a brother of Jesse Lowe, the first mayor, hud
the grand house of those days. It stood where the
Itennett store now is, and was considered about the
finest mansion In the west. I do not know what be
came of it.
"At Eighteenth street where the city hall now
is, was the home of Governor Saunders before he
went over north to build. Hev. Reuben Uaylord, a
pioneer pastor, had his home in a deep depression
where the McConnell garage stands. That hole must
have been as much below -the present grade as the
court house site was above it, and 1 understand the
eaves of the old court house building are about fifty
feet above the sidewalk. And it may be interesting
to recall that when the old court house was built it
V88 considered a palatial building. Some of the
bonds issued to pay for it are still outstanding, and
here we are building a million dollar structure to
take its place."
Waste Places Now lieautif ully Adorned.
Which would no to show, perhaps better than
anything else, the remarkable advancement of Omaha
from a country village to one of the foremost cities
of the land. In the days when the Millard. Hose
water, Saunders, Cay lord, and other homes were built
m far "up town" as to be on the western edge, he
would have been a sanguine enthusiast, indeed, who
could predict the day when the hills and gullies still
farther west would be leveled and filled to that de
gree where some of the most elegant mansions in the
whole utstern country bae found there the most elig
ible and attractive building sites. The late Captain
( H. Downs. Dr. I-owe. Sam liavliss, Cc-nernl Sam
Curtiss and one or nso others had controlled the
tounsite. but they never thought of extending it with
the wide and prescient sweep the modem real estate
boomer would give to sueh a proposition.
In those days the principal lreet of the town
was known as Earnhani street (with the "h" in it),
and it is so spelled iu the tky directory for lS76-'77.
The Milton Hogers store, just now being torn down
to make way for th new Woodmen of the World
building, wus designated in the old directories -as 243
Karnham street. Mr. Uogers took possession of the
lot ubout forty-fiht year? ago and the building now
disappearing has stood on the site for forty-two years.
The picture of tne home formerly occupied ty
the family of Thomas Kennedy, at Sixteenth anil
Jackson, was taken before Sixteenth street was
traded, when the top of the hill ou that street was
about at Jones, a block west. The Kennedy home
tood the test of time for almost thirty-f'.ve years, but
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finally had to give way to the march of Improvement.
Mr. Kennedy's heirs have just finished the build
ing of the handsome structure which is now the home
of the Union Outfitting company. The tintype from
which the cut was made Is, of course, a reverse view.
It was taken from the front yard of the former home
of Peter E. ller, which was moved away iu the fall
of 1909. In Its day the.Jler home was considered
one of the finest residences in Omaha.
When Nebraska Was a Territory.
Looking at a picture of the principal business
and residence section of Omaha, taken about IMili or
'Gii, from the bite of the present Bee building. In the"
foreground is seen the court house that occupied the
site of the Paxton block. When erected it was "sonn
building," to use a modern term; but it did not last
long. Looming up with the early temple of Justice
is the old church, of the plainest type, which stood
where the present Peoples store building is, just north
of the United States National bank. A picket fence
holds the immediate foreground at a point which would
strike the west line of the new Omaha National bank
building today. All over the old picture are shown
small sheds, barns and outhouses which vanished
years ago, and today the same ground Is covered with
costly and ornate business blocks.
Business buildings considered worthy of pic
torial presentation in the earlier .city directories were
the clothing store of M. Hellman & Co.. Thirteenth
and Karnham; Elam Clark & Son. Dodge and Four
teenth; Dewey & Stone, 1S7-S9 Karnham, now lll.'i
17 Karnam; the two-story building then occupied by
the Union Pacific and American Express offices, next
west of the Dewey & Stone building; the Odd Fel
lows' block, still standing at Fourteenth and Dodge;
C. C. Housel & Co.. forwarding and general commis
sion merchants, who also handled 'soap, candles
apples, cider, vinegar, etc.," and advertised they
would "trace lost goods at moderate charges."
The Pioneer Packing lloune.
Ou other pages are found pictures of the store of
Pundt, Meyer & Raapke. grocers. 1 1 2 Farnham; the
Boyd "pork packing house," corner South Chestnut
and Second streets. This predecessor of the present
immense packing plan s Is shown on the rher bank,
with loading platforms built out therefrom and an old
time side-wheel steamer taking on a load for down
river points. There were three buildings, the pack
ing house proper, the smoke house and the provision
w arehouse.
A whole pae was given to an illustration of the
then new postoffice and custom house, now the
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Army building, and the Creighton block, still standing
on the northwest corner of Fourtecnlh and Dodge.
The old brick high school building now about to be
torn down, was also given u page illustration, and for
those days made a surpassingly handsome showing.
Private dwellings pictured in the '70s as typical
of progressive Omaha were the homes of Herman
Kountze, "head of Ninth street, south of Pierce;" the
home of J. H. Iicey, northwest comer of Twentieth
and Chicago, afterward bought and improved by the
late John A. Creighton; the residence of the Catho
lic bishop, adjoining old St. Philomena's; the home of
C. W. Hamilton, in what was then Hamilton Place,
Twentieth street south of St. Mary's avenue. A pic
ture was also presented of the First Presbyterian
church, very much as It appears today, even with the
small building just north showing behind the church.
The late Dr. S. D. Mercer's. "American Surglwl
Institute" was b'so shown, being located nt UiZ I'ar
ney street. It had a staff composed of Drs Meuer,
A. A Parker, J. C. Denise, William MctV'llnnd. L.
B. Arnold and Theodore Ilaumer, the latter "Cei'man
consulting physician."
"Cities of Encliuiitinciit."
"The history of Omaha," says the old chronicler,
"while a just source of gratification and pride to its
inhabitants, is but one Illustration among many of
that wonderful western growth which
into existence as if by enchantment."
brings citie3
Bearing out this statement is a view, with the
New Cook Wagon for the Army
A wagon iu which the rations for troops c;;u Ik
cooked while an army is on the march and delivered
within a few minutes after a halt has been ordered
has been devised as the result of the researches of a
board of army officers, who were appointed by the
United States War department one year and a half
ago to plan a perambulating kitchen which should
meet the strictest field tests that could be imposed
upon it and would also satisfy all needs of an army
on the march in actual war times, says an article in
Popular Mechanics.
Captain Frederick W. Stopford, post commissary
of the Presidio at S.ui Francisco, on whom fell thj
active work of devising the cook wagon, toiled un
ceasingly for a year and a half and it is under his
Not Easy to Swallow
At the wonderful electrical show m .New York
George B. Cortelyou bald to a correspondent:
" This bliow is incredible. The things v. e see elec
tricity doing here are as incredible as the .eil-k'iown
story of the prairie owl."
The prairie owl?" said t lie pii .i. d o: respondent .
"Why, yes. The bird that iieer Ipm-.s sighi of'
you. you know. A western drummer w.,3 describing
the prairie owl iu the smoking room of a hotel.
" 'It never lets you out of its sight. l e exph-im.-d.
'You may gallop round and round and n
will sit btill auu turn iu head ait. -c
i i', nui i.
fOiiow all
your movements.
"'not!' cried an eastern dm miner impatiently.
'If it did that it would twi.-t its head ort'.'
"'So it does,' the we.-teru diamine r am.weivd.
I've often killed them thai uy, but they're not rood
eating.' "
Way to Mbdern Views
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TT , ... . , , association they had with absolutely natural condi
tion I acfic bridge In the foreground and lending tions while they were deveu-ping into mm."
to a city of spires, large bl.uks and numerous homes. Mr r,,ffill Ktm iiv.. ,..' . .
Two hmu n. niinun , ., , . Mr- J"m "ill livia on a part of what was
i o ooais aie siiou n pabsi,iK ta h other on th . i ver. (,i. , , , . ..
w.iu iuii steam up, and along the bank are several
long warehouses, with trains of cars pulling out from
alongside.
To quote the optimistic writer again: "it iH
with us a frequent pleasure to devote un hour to
reverie, in which the leading incidents of twenty years
become developed from shadowy ambitions and hopes
into the sharply defined realities or material pros
perity and beauty." U would be difficult to better
that today; or this: "Western energy is tho grand
developing solution under which the silent prairie
landscape becomes animated with tho bustle of
thousands, diversified with pleasant homes, costly
blocks, spacious halls, numerous schools and churches,
and musical with the constant ring of hammers, the
h-rn of machinery, and the rumble of trains. Omaha
holds the key to all the mighty west; It enjoys a world
wide, celebrity and only regards Its present position
as a vantage ground from which to wage a more suc
cessi'ul struggle for power and wraith." And today
this forecast and claim has been realized in the most
striking way.
Old-Tinier' Pen Picture.
Presenting the other side of tho picture of the
growing days of Omaha is the tale of men like Joel
Griffin, who has resided lit re Kinep 1K.",C. ,,'rVw,f.
wasn't much promise of glorious things about Omaha
during my boyhood," said Mr. Griffin, "or dnrimr th
young manhood of a good many. Yet we all felt,
direction that this mott modern of army equipments
has bt en perfected.
The plan of Captain Stopford does not contem
plate tho building of a new wagon with its consequent
high cost. On the contrary, the ordinary carrier for
troops iu the field, known commonly as the "csiort
wagon,'" drawn by two, four or six husky mules, is
utilized and requires no rebuilding. So compact Is
the arrangement (jf utensils, etc., that but one wagon
Is Heeded for a battalion of four companUs, l.'iO
officers and men. For this same reason the new
wagon does not make any addition to the already
long transportation trains of troops in the fields.
Tiie army escort wagon is forty-two inches wide
by nine und a huh' lei t long and to accommodate tho
kitchen the sideboards are removed. At the front is
pla ed the range, which is about forty-two iuchis
vide and about four feet long, including the boiler,
whi.h goes under the driver's seal. On tho range may
be placed fo,r aluminum boilers, sitting closely to
gether and occupying the entire top of tin- stove. Each
of tiiese boiiers holds ightecn gallons, while the
boil, r und, r the h-jt holds loo gallons, oven pans
are ali-.o i.re.idni, each of which will hold forty
pounds of nit at or to t ad. or they may be used ou lop
o!' the stove as frying pans. At cither side of the
wagon is a In. less cooking che:,t, which may be u :i
n a tuoie, .i (le.sii. tl, while boards at the ba k
i'uliiil out and csed as tallies from which to
i. i.iiio::.:. . h bo. r.i i.'-ii,:; prowd.d with a
may
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si out
iron l.-g ai one end, the other end n sting on tin: wngou.
Tne ct oking on the arm: wagon goes ou from
dawn ;o di.rU u It u the troi ps are on the mar: h. Im
me.Ma'tly aftir br. al.faM is served and before t l.e
wagons are darted in ti e morning th- v. g. tables ar..
put in the bo:k;a and Marled cooking.
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Bomev.-ay, that (ho place would nnmunt to something
if we could only nVanagc to live long enough. And
I have a theory that the reason why so many of the
early settlors lived to a grand old age was tho closa
i uu in in me inunvei- nays. ua
is located at Forty-sixth am, Grover streets, and drive
into Hip city almost every day. "We lived so far out
when I was a young man that the Griffin homestead
was the last house betwein the business center of
Omaha and Flkhom," said the wiry pioneer. "When
we would come to town wo could make choice of two
ways of getting homj. One took us south, with a
final swiiii? to the west over about where Sheelytown
is. My father owned some limber down that way
where wo used to cut our wood, ond afterward a Mr.
Sheely opened a sawmill at, that location, which gave
the place its name. The other way was over the hill
about where the Bee building is and out Farnam
street. Where all the automobile garnges are now
a creek ran in a deep gully, and at about Twenty-second
or Twenty-third street there was a bridge. We
would go up to Twenty-fourth street on a fairly good
road, then strike over to where Senator Millard's for
mer home is. and from there drive across the prairie.
It wasn't bad going, unless the weather was particu
larly disagreeable; but, of course accidents occurred
now and again, mostly of a kind to make th.e victim
the butt of jokes for the town wags, of whom thera
were plenty.
K pt Signal Lights in Stormy Weuther.
"1 Hist in t t ly recall that in the very early times,
when we bad become fairly settled on the old home.-,
stead, it was the custom to set caudles and lanterns
iu itio wiuuows in the stormy weather. As we wera
the last house on the road, travelers to Elkhorn and
west used to look for the Griffin place as a sort of
lighthouse, and a good many men found their Hal
'::
ation in tlios" lights. One bitter, blizzardy nighfi
Mini' Forbes, whom many of the old timers will re
call, staggered against our door, just about all In,
alter struggling with a blizzard for several hours, lit
fact that thing became so common that we were fre
quently hard put to make a place for the belated trav
elers to stay. In the end, to discourage promiscuous
imposition, father was obliged to make a charge, ver
much against bis will, for in thoso days hospitality,
free and open, was the rule.
"I never ride through tne west Farnam district now
but 1 think of the grand chances men overlooked la
those days. Why, one time the late Judge Wool
wort Ii and some other men formed a syndicate ana
offered us $2.."i(M) an acre for sixty acres In that sec
tion. I was willing to sell, but the other heirs were
not, on the theory that if the land was worth that
muh to anyone else it was was to us, so the deal fell
through. When my father laid out the Griffin &
Isaacs addition, two blocks south of Farnam and west
of Twenty-fourth, a good many people said ho wai
crazy. But pretty soon some people began to buy
and build houses in that addition, and you know what
a splendid development has occurred in that vicinity
iu recent yeais."
Mr. Griffin was asked why he don't M v o in th
city now, bis home being Just outside the limbs. "I
have got so used to living In the country I can't get
over the habit," he said. "I feel at home out around
the edges, although we are now practically in town.
When Gould Diet recently bought a piece of property
belonging to a sister of mine, it kind of gave me a
twinge, becaui.t; I set out every one of those walnut
trees myself, and I have seen them grow ami flour
ish through mi many years they seem like old friends.
But I suppose the trees will soon have to go, to make
more room for fine suburban homes. However, I take
as much pride as any old resident iu the grand
progre.-s made by this city, and hope to live to see her
count a population of GU.Oou, at leabt."
