South Omaha, Nebraska

South Omaha, Nebraska is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska. During its initial development phase the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth due to the rapid development of the Union Stockyards. Annexed by the City of Omaha in 1915, the community has numerous historical landmarks, many contained within the South Omaha Main Street Historic District.

Contents 1 Definition 2 History 2.1 Cultural diversity 3 Landmarks in South Omaha 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Definition

The traditional borders of South Omaha included Vinton Street to the north; Harrison Street to the south; the Missouri River on the east, and; 42nd Street on the west.

History

The area that would become South Omaha was rural until the early 1880s, when cattle baron Alexander Hamilton Swan decided to establish a stockyards operation just south of Omaha. The South Omaha plat was registered on July 18, 1884; two years later, South Omaha was incorporated as a city. By 1890, the city had grown to 8,000 people, a rate of growth that earned it the nickname of "The Magic City". In less than 10 years, South Omaha had become a stockyards and meat packing center, drawing thousands of immigrant workers, mostly from southern and eastern Europe. South Omaha was annexed by Omaha on June 20 1915. At that time it was 6.4 mi² and had 40,000 residents.^[1] In 1947 there were 15,000 people working in meatpacking, but structural changes to the industry in the 1960s cost the city 10,000 jobs.

Cultural diversity

South Omaha was, and continues to be, culturally diverse. Many residents are descended from the Irish, Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, Italian, and Latino immigrants who made up the original workforce. This diversity is most evident in the Roman Catholic churches established by the various ethnic communities, including:

• Irish – St. Mary's and St. Bridget's
• German – St. Rose
• Polish – St. Stanislaus and St. Francis of Assisi
• Lithuanian – St. Anthony's
• Italian – St. Francis Cabrini
• Croatian – Sts. Peter and Paul
• Hispanic – Our Lady of Guadalupe
• Czech – Assumption

Orthodox churches in South Omaha include:

• Greeks – St. John's Greek Orthodox
• Serbian – St. Nicholas
• Romanian – Holy Cross

There was a Jewish synagogue established in South Omaha in the late 1800s. The Lithuanian community published a newspaper, known as the Bell of the West, in the early part of the twentieth century. In recent decades, South Omaha has seen an influx of Hispanic and Sudanese populations.

Landmarks in South Omaha

Place name	Year built	Location	National Register of Historic Places[2]	Omaha Landmark[3]
Breckenridge-Gordon House			No	Yes
Broatch Building			No	Yes
Center School (Omaha, Nebraska)			Yes	Yes
Columbian School			Yes	Yes
Epeneter House			No	Yes
Ford Hospital			Yes	No
Franklin School			Yes	No
Gallagher Building	1888	1902-1906 South 13th Street		Yes	Yes
Georgia Row House			Yes	No
Gottlieb Storz House			Yes	Yes
Grossman Apartment			No	Yes
Guy C. Barton House			Yes	No
Hanscom Park	1876		No	No
Hicks House			No	Yes
Hicks Terrace			No	Yes
Immaculate Conception Church and School			Yes	No
Joel N. Cornish House			Yes	No
Kimball House			No	Yes
Kuncl-Hruska House			No	Yes
Little Bohemia		Bounded by South 10th Street on the east, South 16th Street on the west, Pierce Street on the north, and Martha Street on the south	No	No
Little Italy		Bounded by Pacific Street on the north, Center Street on the south, South 10th Street on the west and the Missouri River on the east.	No	No
Livestock Exchange Building			Yes	Yes
Mason School			Yes	Yes
Mason Terrace & Van Closter Residence			No	Yes
McLaughlin House			No	Yes
Megeath House			No	Yes
Monmouth Park School			Yes	No
Neble House			No	Yes
Packer’s National Bank Building			Yes	Yes
Park School			Yes	Yes
Porter House			Yes	Yes
Prague Hotel			Yes	No
Robbins School			No	Yes
Rosewater School			Yes	Yes
Saint Joseph Parish Complex			Yes	Yes
St. John's Collegiate Church			No	Yes
St Martin of Tours Episcopal Church			Yes	Yes
St Matthias' Episcopal Church			Yes	No
St Philomena's Cathedral and Rectory			Yes	Yes
Slater House			No	Yes
South Omaha Bridge	1936	Located on Hwys 275/92 over the Missouri River	Yes	No
South Omaha Main Street Historic District	1883	South 24th Street between M Street on the north and O Street on the south	Yes	No
Steiner Rowhouse No. 1			Yes	No
Steiner Rowhouse No. 2			Yes	No
Swoboda Bakery			Yes	No
Union State Bank Building			No	Yes
Vinton School			Yes	Yes
Vinton Street Commercial Historic District		Along Vinton Street between Elm Street on the west and South 17th Street on the east	No	Yes
Wattles House			No	Yes
Zabriskie House			Yes	Yes

See also

• Category:South Omaha

References

1. ^ History of Nebraska - Chapter 35, retrieved 14dec2006
2. ^ (2007) National Register of Historic Places - Nebraska, Douglas County. National Park Service. Retrieved 6/7/07.
3. ^ Omaha Landmarks. Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 7/7/07.

External links

• History of South Omaha on NEGenWeb

•  • e Omaha Stockyards
Related entities	Union Stockyards Company · Union Stockyards Bank · Union Stockyards Railroad Company · Union Trust Company · South Omaha Land Syndicate · South Omaha Land Company
Related places	South Omaha · Livestock Exchange Building · Union Stockyards · John A. Smiley · Packer's National Bank Building · South 24th Street · Syndicate Park · Greek Town
Related people	Alexander Swan · William A. Paxton · Herman Kountze · John A. Creighton

•  • e Neighborhoods of Omaha
Downtown	Burnt District · Chinatown · Old Market · Sporting District · NoDo
Midtown	Country Club · Dundee · Elmwood Park · Field Club · Hanscom Park · Leavenworth · Morton Meadows
North	Bemis Park · Benson · Casey's Row · Conestoga Place · Cutler's Park · East Omaha · Florence · Gifford Park · Gophertown · Gold Coast · Kountze Place · Miller Park · Minne Lusa · Near North Side · Prospect Hill · Raven Oaks · Scriptown · Saratoga · Walnut Hill
South	Burlington Road · Carville · Dahlman · Deer Park · Dog Hollow · Gibson · Greek Town · Little Bohemia · Little Italy · Old Gold Coast · South Omaha · Sheelytown · S. 24th Street · Spring Lake
West	Bent Creek · Bridlewood · Elkhorn · Hillsborough · Keystone · Maple Village · Millard · Mockingbird Heights · Roanoke

Coordinates: 41°12′38″N, 95°57′45″W