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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 23, 1918)
OMAHA; SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 23. 1918. Officials of the Progressive City of Omaha r 1 0maha at the Time The Bee First Made Its Bow to the Public in 1871 4 Z ij. 8 Arm V " " ' ... i Ht it r I " V'T J. Dean Ringer City Commissioner Supt. Police, Sanitation and Public Safety DAN B. BUTLER City Commissioner Supt. of Street Cleaning and Maintenance THOS. B. FALCONER City Commissioner Supt. Parks and Public Property IT IT Tb narry d. l Cify 154 w City Commissioner imman Commissioner SUPT. FIRE PROTECTION ' llllllpllllllllllllk ' ' Jiiiiij mmmmmm lis A ? P f " 1 -1 .CUR Superintendent of Accounts and Finance Up and Down Old Far nam Street With Visions of the Past Article from a Previous Anniver sary Number Reprinted by Request At the time The Bee made its itial bow before the local public as a little two-page evening paper Omaha had outgrown the village stage. As the gateway to the far west through which the great horde of transcon tinental pioneers, settlers and tourists made their way to the mountains and the Pacific coast Omaha had achieved a recognized place on the map and was enjoying the results of an in creasing trade, fostered by its Farnam Street West from' Fifteenth in 1871 1 - !S!ffigLJLRag; geographical position and the recent opening up of new transportation routes of which it was the terminus. The traveler who came to Omaha in 1871 would therefore have found a thriving, hustling little town of about 17,000 inhabitants. The census of 1870 had given it a population of 16, 083, and the whole state of Nebraska a trifle less than 125,000. Our traveler might have made his way up the river by steamboat, as the steamboat lines had not yet been abandoned. During the season of navigation, so we are told, it was by no means an unusual thing to see b'liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiJiii!!::!) :? y -' .: v Y 3 D.P.SMITH ! mm MAYOR CITY OF OMAHA 1 5 ss niiiiiiiiiMiiuiiiiM:iiMiiiii:i;niiiiiii!i;iiiiin!iii!iii!iiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiF. each day at the landing several boats receiving their freight for the moun tains and others the products of the state for consumption at the south. He would, however, likely have made use of the new built railroads which had thrown their iron tracks about Omaha like spokes in a wheel. Stim ulated by the construction of the Union Pacific, finally completed in 1869, four roads constituting through connections with the east had rapid ly pushed their way up to the Missouri river. The Chicago & Northwestern had been the first completed, then the Hannibal & St. Joseph, then the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and next the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. Even at that time the project for the Omaha & Southwestern was afoot, soon to be carried into success ful execution. The controversy over the use of the Union Pacific bridge at this point was just at its height and the business men of the town were energetically engaged in a fight to prevent the threatened location of in the Union Pacific terminals on the Council Bluffs side of the river. Bird's-Eye View of the Town. The first impulse of our traveler would naturally have been to take a brief survey of the place. The whole area of the town in 1871 was but a shadow of what it is now. The streets had been laid out only from Twenty third street on the west to the river on the east, and from Nicholas on the north to Pierce on the south. The inhabited portion was, of course. .iuch smaller. For administrative conven ience the town had been divided into six wards, the First ward comprising ' : i 1:11111111111111131112111111111111111211111111 the district south of Farnam (then spelled Farnham) and east : of Twelfth; the Second, that south of Farnam and west of Twelfth; th Third, that between Farnam and Davenport; the Fourth, that between the same streets and west of Four teenth; the Fifth, that north of Daven port and east of Sixteenth, and the Sixth, the remainder. The streets, even in the business' center, were unpaved. The sidewalks and cross walks consisted, for the most part, of wooden planks, though the pedestrian esteemed himself for tunate to find continuous sidewalks at all. There was no street railway, no electric lights, no telephones, no sew ers, no water works. The people drew their water from wells and cis terns, and water for fire protection was stored in public cisterns at the intersections of certain streets. In one thing the town pointed to an up-to-dateness that placed it head and shoulders above its competitors that was its gas works and gas lamps. which had been introduced two yean before. Still the use of gas fo illuminating stores and dwellings wa a luxury afforded by exceeding few Panorama from Capitol Hill. Let me quote a pen picture written shortly before this very time: "Commencing near the river on the south attention is attracted by several substantial brick buildings used as breweries, while the heights which bound the city in this direction are crowned by handsome private resi- , dences. Passing west we notice in succession the gas works, Brownell Hall and the Nunnery; thence cross ing to the north we reach the old capitol, now redeeded to the city for educational purposes. An ascent to tte ninr1;i will w11 r.natf ttlj. fatimi VMW.U ..... V. . (VJVJ V..W imposed. Immediately below lies the city, with its wide, regular streets, its loity ranges ot business nouses in terrupted here and there by churche . and lines of pleasant trees; beyond rolls the Missouri with its regal porno ; of waters, while in the distant east sleeps Council Bluffs at the foot of the picturesque hills from which it takes its name. Before one four or five busy lines of railroad carry the through traffic of the continent, and a ; valley unsurpassed for fertility as it beauty can be traced for miles as it stretches away to the north. "Coming down into the city and reaching Farnam street we notice the Congregational . church, military : headquarters and the court house; east of these Kountze's bank; next Shoaf Brothers' billiard hall and the offices of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad. At the foot of the street are several hotels and the of fices of the Union Pacific railroad. Passing up Douglas street, th ' Metropolitan hotel is the first objeel of interest; then on Twelfth, but few steps from the main thorough fare, the rooms of the Young Men'i Christian association, a credit to thi zeal and devotion of the young men of Omaha. Just beyond Twelfth, th : Emanuel Evansrelical Lutheran church and Visscher's block. Next comes the Omaha National banll and the offices of the Herald and Re. publican. On Seventeenth we see th new Presbyterian church with its con spicuous spire and the Methodist church, but partly built. On the cor ner of Fifteenth and Davenport the new Baptist church is approaching completion and promises to be one oi the fairest architectural additions to the city. Following east on Daven port we reach an open space over looking the river bottom, and the eye is at once arrested by the ex tensive shops of the Union Pacific railroad. The barracks to the north of the city also will repay a visit, though at present the Indian troubles west have drawn away most of the troops." City Government la 18711 : If our traveler should have hap pened in at the council rooms in Hell man's block some evening when the council was in session, he would have found advising that body as mayor Smith S. Caldwell one of th leading bankers and most prominent citizens. In front of him he wouH have seen ranged as councilmen E. A. Allen and W. J. McKelligan from the First ward, G. W. Homan and J. S. Gibson from the Second ward, Henry Luhens and John Campbell from the Third wardr John A. Horbach and Byron Reed from the" Fourth ward, James Creighton and J. B. Bartlett from the . Fifth ward, and George Smith and Thomas Martin from the Sixth ward. The other city officers were: C L. Bristol, city clerk; John Steen, treasurer; John R. Porter, -po- j"BCi i-wiurcw ivoscwater, city engineer; Jerry Dee, street commis sioner, and G. .W. Gratton, gai in spector. " . - At the head of the police depart" ment was William G. Hollins, cUr marshal and chief, assisted by Rg& (Coatiaod o mnt pt4