North Omaha History Podcast, Omaha History, South Omaha History

The 24th and Lake Historic District is being recognized more and more as a cultural asset to all of Omaha, and to the Midwestern United States overall. The African American heritage of the intersection includes jazz and blues, parades and big bands, and modern social justice movements stemming from the 1950s through today. Adam has is the history of one of the most important locations in the 24th...

When Omaha was founded, Carter Lake didn’t even exist! But after a big flood, it became a playground for the people with amusement parks, resorts, a public beach, an airport and a lot more. This is a history of the Carter Lake. Our thanks to our patrons: Mike Schill Jenna Smith Dan Hedrick Carl Jackson Richard Gude Daniel Ammons Sara Rogers Troy Lewellen Kristine Gerber Jay Hannah Lori Schwa...

Oftentimes, great leaders take their place in history. However, this right hasn’t been given to many African American leaders, especially in Omaha. One man single-handedly roused a generation of political activism, social consciousness, and deliberate action to improve the conditions of newly liberated Black people who settled in Omaha when it was a very young city. This is the life of Edwin...

The founder of Florence was a pioneer store owner from the Iowa side of the Mississippi River. Then he crossed the Missouri River to stake out his future town. After he died, his wife kept his body in a glass-covered casket in a backyard mausoleum at their Florence house for a year. Here’s the story of James Comey Mitchell, the founder of Florence. Our thanks to our patrons: Jenna Smith Dan Hedric...

One neighborhood in North Omaha had a hospital, a half-dozen churches and businesses galore, and a long history. Then it all seemed to disappear. This is a history of the Monmouth Park neighborhood. Our thanks to our patrons: Jenna Smith Dan Hedrick Carl Jackson Kelsey Tarrell Richard Gude Daniel Ammons Sara Rogers Troy Lewellen Joanne Ferguson Cavanaugh Kristine Gerber Jay Hannah Lori Schwartz an...

For more than 150 years, North Omaha has experienced powerful leadership within the community. Some leaders have appealed to African Americans, some to white people, and some have created bridges to support all North Omahans. From the 1950s through the 1980s, one man was regularly credited with the latter. This is a biography of community leader, entrepreneur and educator Dr. Rodney Wead. Our than...

Dan Desdunes was The Man. For more than 20 years, he was the leader of Omaha’s powerhouse music scene. He also launched several musicians’ careers, volunteered around the community, and was well-thought of throughout his life. But even before he got to Omaha, Desdunes made waves ripple in Louisiana. This is the biography of North Omaha’s Dan Desdunes. Our thanks to our patrons: Jenna Smith Dan Hed...

Imagine a warm summer evening at the turn of the century. Look out on Carter Lake and see the lightning bugs flickering and listen to the cicadas roaring. Picture yourself strolling along a boardwalk wrapped along the edge of the lake, wearing fancy clothes and just basking in the natural opulence. Walking by clubs and docks with sailboats bobbing in the darkness, you see cottages and restaurants...

North Omaha is screaming full of history, and the new 24th and Lake Historic District is a tremendous example of how that’s so. After its first developments in the 1870s, this intersection evolved to become a hotbed of the African American community; as well as the heart of the Jewish community; a farm supply area; and much, much more. In 2016, 38 buildings were included in a new listing on the Na...

North Omaha sits on the shoulder of a city that keeps growing, but leaves this community alone. Routinely forgotten about, the community is largely neglected by investors and developers who see it as dead space. Perched uncomfortably on the precipice of downtown Omaha, the rest of this growing metro looks at North Omaha’s foibles and history mercilessly. Instead, Omaha is slowly devouring the sout...

Tucked away in North Omaha is a historic neighborhood that gets little attention. However, the people who’ve lived there have vibrant memories and meaningful stories that lasted a lifetime. The Central Park neighborhood extends from North 33rd to North 48th Streets, from Ames Avenue to Sorenson Parkway. Located west of the town of Saratoga, it was never an incorporated town like its neighbors in I...

In the 1840s, crossing the raging Missouri River was a harrowing struggle. Men, women, and children in schooners, on foot and riding horses, had to get across the water in a way they would survive that would keep all their supplies and possessions intact. It took 100 years to build a permanent structure across the water. Adam explores the bridge, the ferries, the politics, the economics, and more...

North Omaha has been the home to many fraternal lodges, community societies, political and social organizations and other groups. It has also been home to a lot of private clubs, nightclubs, dance halls and ballrooms. Its long history includes serving as the city’s African American cultural, religious and social hub, along with its Scandinavian roots, business ties, and other connections. There ar...

With more than two dozen houses that are 130 years old, a major metro area park and a mysterious lost community hidden in a forest, the history of the Omaha View neighborhood, Adams Park and the Plum Nelly community is very tantalizing. Adam Fletcher Sasse fills us in. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on at the North Omaha History Podcast by becoming a patron. Please go to Patreon.com/Omah...

An African-American minister and his wife built a congregation in North Omaha that is credited with raising the community and fighting segregation. St Phillip the Deacon Episcopal Church and it’s pastor John Albert Williams, his wife Lucinda. Adam Fletcher tells us the story of this dynamic couple. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on at the North Omaha History Podcast by becoming a patron....

The intersection of North 30th and Ames Avenue was an important suburban crossroads in North Omaha as early as the 1890s and going all the way into the 1960s. Then, with white flight in full force and North Omaha divestment underway, the intersection started to struggle. Adam Fletcher Sasse fills us in. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on at the North Omaha History Podcast by becoming a pa...

Began in 1915 and officially chartered in 1918, the Omaha NAACP has been the vanguard in fighting for African Americans for the last century of Omaha’s existence. Adam Fletcher Sasse guides us through the NAACP from its founding to the present day. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on at the North Omaha History Podcast by becoming a patron. Please go to Patreon.com/Omaha

Omaha is a city of immigrants, and among the diversity are Italians who came for jobs, homes and connections. More than Mister C’s or an Italian sandwich shop at 30th and Ames, there is a rich heritage in the community that’s almost entirely lost. Adam teaches us the history of Italians in North Omaha. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on at the North Omaha History Podcast by becoming a pat...

In the 1940s and 50s, the region north of Ames Street and east of 42nd Street grew rapidly. The area had been farms. but during the post-World War II housing boom, all those fields were planted with neighborhoods, schools and families. Those folks needed grocery stores, barber shops and clothing stores. North Omaha’s first shopping center opened in the early 60s. Help us meet expenses and keep the...

Often forgotten and neglected by Omaha, there’s an area that was home to hard-working folks who, for more than a century, made their living growing food. It was in the areas known today as the Sherman neighborhood, the old town of East Omaha, Birchwood, and everything on the Nebraska side of Carter Lake. Adam tells us all about truck farms in East Omaha. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on...

James Monroe Parker is one of the most important people in the history of Florence. His business and his farm are two of the most visible historical landmarks in Omaha today, even though only one is acknowledged for its importance. Listen in as Adam takes it from there. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on at the North Omaha History Podcast by becoming a patron. Please go to Patreon.com/Oma...

Did you know that North Omaha has at least eight historic cemeteries? Serving religious and ethnic populations as well as the general public, these are the final resting places of thousands of people from the 1840s through today. Adam has some great stories about these cemeteries. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on at the North Omaha History Podcast by becoming a patron. Please go to Patr...

In the last decade, the lynching of Will Brown has received a lot of attention in Omaha and beyond. However, many of the facts in the story have been lost to time and others muddled away. For years, Adam has searched for little-known details about Brown’s lynching and he shares what he learned in this podcast episode. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on at the North Omaha History Podcast b...

Once there was a massive public housing project located at the intersection of North 24th and Paul Streets in the Near North Side neighborhood. Originally named the “Northside Village Public Housing Project,” the name was officially changed in honor of the famous Omaha tribe leader Logan Fontenelle. Starting in the late 1970s, these projects were unofficially known as “Little Vietnam”. Help us mee...

Starting in 1896, the Salvation Army ran numerous facilities in North Omaha. Adam walks us through all those facilities. Help us meet expenses and keep the light on at the North Omaha History Podcast by becoming a patron. Please go to Patreon.com/Omaha