North Omaha History Podcast, Omaha History, South Omaha History

A lot of different groups of people lived in the Omaha area before Europeans started stealing the land. Thousands of years ago, big game hunters dominated the area, while later people were farmers and hunters living along the Missouri River. For instance, according to the Nebraska State Historical Society, the area from Creighton University to the river was an Otoe earth lodge village around 1700....

Imagine a smooth, easy drive on a Saturday afternoon in the fall all of it weaving along nineteen miles of the city’s waterfront. There are long, calm curves and tall, stately oaks lining the boulevard, with walkers and bikes moving along a nice sidewalk that goes that entire distance. At evening, you turn to go home, your way lit by warm street lamps along with the glow of fireflies. Support the...

Today, North Omaha is a medical desert. With more than 40,000 residents in its boundaries, there is a stark absence of medical service providers of all kinds. Making it worse, the community is greatly under insured. That leaves people who have no insurance and no money needing to travel to other parts of the city to get care. However, that hasn’t always been the case. There have been more than ten...

While there are no active movie theaters in North Omaha today, there have been at least 25 movie theaters over the last century. There are few records of the earliest theaters. A reader of Adam’s blog pointed out they were mostly a sheet on a wall with a few dozen folding chairs. But Adam went through old advertisements in the Omaha Bee newspaper, as well as city directories from the 1910s and 192...

North Omaha has been home to several large mansions and estates, especially in its early years. Built in the grand tradition of wealthy families, they were intended to broadcast success and ensure comfort. These fine homes belonged to real estate moguls, rich businessmen, and old Eastern inheritors that moved west. Some were elegant and restrained, while others simply oozed money. None of these ma...

In a place as old as North Omaha, there are bound to be a lot of ghost stories. Adam has researched stories about the Ghosts of Fort Omaha, the Lady in White, Carter Lake’s Burning Lady, the Immanuel Deaconess Tunnels, the Chapel at Forest Lawn Cemetery, the Ghosts at Hummel Park and North Omaha’s Missing Cemeteries. Adam tells some ghost stories! Support the North Omaha History podcast. Please go...

Along the tree-lined streets and fine middle and upper class homes of Kountze Place in North Omaha, the staff of Omaha’s Presbyterian Theological Seminary decided in the early 20th century to start a new university. For 30 years, the neighborhood was home to the eventual University of Nebraska at Omaha. Support the North Omaha History podcast. Please go to https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/ (h...

When the Trans-Mississippi Exposition happened in North Omaha in 1898, the city wanted to make sure all visitors knew how easy it was to get to the site. Using some promotional materials from that time, Adam’s written a history of streetcars in North Omaha in the 1890s. This history surely changed a lot between then and 1955, when the last streetcars ran in the city. Adam fills us in on this story...

Hidden deep in the heart of North Omaha is a jewel of a street, filled with abundant American foursquare houses, long yards and hints of its glory 100 years ago. This section of Wirt Street, from North 16th to North 24th Streets, was once home to some of the predominant names in the beautiful Kountze Place development. It was also home to more than simple foursquares. In addition to the stout midd...

The Fort Street Special School for Incorrigible Boys was opened in 1887. Where was it and what became of it? When and why did it close? Why did kids want to go there? How much documentation remains? Adam Flether Sasse explains. Support the North Omaha History podcast. Please go to https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/ (https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/) - click on the "Patreon" icon and beco...

Adam grew up in the Miller Park neighborhood in north Omaha. It's a beautiful neighbor with a variety of architectural styles from homes, to churches to a school. Listen in as Adam gives us the history of Miller Park and the people who lived there. Support the North Omaha History podcast going. Please go to https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/ (https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/) - click on...

Today, Omaha suburbs routinely bill themselves having a “street of dreams” in order to sell houses. However, for more than 50 years there was one place in the city people thought of when they heard that phrase. Hopping businesses, swinging clubs and streams of human traffic came and went from these blocks. Here’s some of the history of North 24th Street, Omaha’s REAL street of dreams. Adams weaves...

Adam give us the history of beautiful Fontenelle Park in North Omaha. Which world series was held there? Did the Omaha Cardinals call it home. What has become of Fontenelle Park today? We need your help to keep the North Omaha History podcast going. Please go to https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/ (https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/) - click on the "Patreon" icon and become a patron for as...

It was once called "Omaha's Prettiest Mile Boulevard". Florence Boulevard in North Omaha was built over the old Winter Quarter Wagon Road and was the first roadway in Omaha with electric lamps. Why was it called "Omaha's Prettiest Mile Boulevard" and what about all those tunnels? Adam Fletcher Sasses tells the story. We need your help to keep the North Omaha History podcast going. Please go to htt...

At the turn of the last century up to WWII, Carter Lake was a wonderful recreation area. It was the location of the Omaha Municipal Beach and it had four resorts. The Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway ran regular service there and it was the site of the "Omaha 300" (think Indianapolis 500). Adam Fletcher Sasse is our guide as we go back in time to Carter Lake/Lake Nakoma. We need your help t...

The Florence Water Works once had a beautiful campus with ornate buildings, a mansion and a small community to house it's workers. Adam Fletcher Sasse unpacks this and tells us how Omaha used to get it's water at the neighborhood level. We need your help to keep the North Omaha History podcast going. Please go to https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/ (https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/) - cli...

Adam tells us about a popular 50s attraction in Carter Lake: Kiddieland and the Pleasure Pier. It could hold up to 20,000 people! When did it close? What's left of it? How do you find the remains? We need your help to keep the North Omaha History podcast going. Please go to https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/ (https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/) - click on the "Patreon" icon and become a pa...

Adam Fletcher Sasse guides us through the History of Schools in North Omaha. 1840s - the Mormons, Cutler's Park and Florence. 1860s - Saratoga. 1870s - DeBolt. Omaha first African American teacher. The University of Omaha and 10 school districts are folded into one. We need your help to keep the North Omaha History podcast going. Please go to https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/ (https://northom...

We continue our study of the History of Omaha Racism. the city of Omaha tries to abolish slavery in 1859. The Birth of a Nation plays in Omaha. An Episcopalian priest is jailed for looking Asian, and the history of the Jewish community in Omaha. We need your help to keep the North Omaha History podcast going. Please go to https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/ (https://northomahahistory.com/podcas...

Adam Fletcher Sasse shines a light on Omaha Racism by expertly telling the story of the treatment of non-whites over the past 160 years. Early racism, lynchings, the Greek Town riot and segregation are included. We need your help to keep the North Omaha History podcast going. Please go to https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/ (https://northomahahistory.com/podcast/) - click on the "Patreon" icon...

Adam tells us the story of the North Omaha riots of the 1960s. Were they consequences, or causes of the decline of North Omaha? What did George Wallace, the Black Panthers and Ernie Chambers have to do with the riots? Adam weaves the yarn. Become a patron of the North Omaha History Podcast and help keep it going https://www.patreon.com/omaha (https://www.patreon.com/omaha) Visit Adam's Omaha Histo...

Adam Fletcher Sasse takes us back in time to the town of Saratoga Neb. It's was at 24th & Grand in Omaha. What happened to Saratoga? Is there anything left? What's the legacy and what about Sulphur Springs? Anything left of the Saratoga dock on the Missouri River? Is the Grand Hotel still there? Find out. Become a patron of the North Omaha History Podcast and help keep it going https://www.patreon...

Adam walks us through Omaha's oldest cemetery - Prospect Hill. Where is it and who's buried there? Become a patron of the North Omaha History Podcast and help keep it going https://www.patreon.com/omaha (https://www.patreon.com/omaha) Visit Adam's Omaha History blog at https://northomahahistory.com (https://northomahahistory.com)and like his Facebook page for all kinds of great stuff https://www.f...

Adam continues his tour of N16th St as it transitions from luxury mansions to plush apartments that still stand to this day. He also gives us a tour of the Storz brewery and the center of commerce that was at 16th & Locust. Become a patron of the North Omaha History Podcast and help keep it going https://www.patreon.com/omaha (https://www.patreon.com/omaha) Visit Adam's Omaha History blog at https...

Adam Fletcher Sasse drives us down North 16th Street, starting in the 1850s when it was a country road leading to the old town of Saratoga. We get a bird's eye view of the mansions that once lined this grand way - also known as Sherman Avenue. Become a patron of the North Omaha History Podcast and help keep it going https://www.patreon.com/omaha (https://www.patreon.com/omaha) Visit Adam's Omaha H...