Lincoln's Early Architecture

By James McKee, Edward Zimmer and Matthew Hansen

Lincoln s predecessor, Lancaster, formed in 1863 on the east bank of Salt Creek around a proposed Methodist female seminary. Though a building was erected, the school failed to materialize. When Nebraska became the 37th state in 1867, the village of Lancaster was chosen as its first capital, and the name was changed to Lincoln. Although lacking mineral resources, a navigable stream, a railroad, or even a minimal population, the village steadily grew and prospered from its 30 original inhabitants to its present population of more than 260,000. At the time of its origins, critics claimed, Nobody will ever go to Lincoln who does not go to the legislature, the lunatic asylum, the penitentiary, or some of the state institutions. Images of America: Lincoln's Early Architecture traces the city s growth, including three state capitols and the University of Nebraska, into a modern city of diverse people, events, and businesses.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: May 19, 2014
• ISBN: 9781439645277

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(LCL).

INTRODUCTION

In the mid-1850s, published reports of salt flats brought the first European American travelers to the area that would become Lincoln, though Pawnee and Sioux had accessed this source of salt for hundreds of years. The old lake bed was nearly flat, with a few rolling hills, and stretched north to today’s Superior Street, east to Seventieth Street, and west and south as far as the eye could see. All was covered with prairie grass and fewer than a dozen trees straggled along Salt Creek. The highest point of land was the hill that rose to the east from Salt Creek to Tenth and P Streets. That hill would ultimately have its grade lowered by 17 feet to build the first permanent post office and courthouse (now Old City Hall).

Though the bison had moved on, the area was not without wildlife. An early traveler mentioned elk, deer, wolves and antelope, geese, brant, swan, ducks and pelican. That traveler could have taken the old trail from Nebraska City to Old Fort Kearny, a route later followed by the Midland Pacific Railroad and Highway 2.

In 1863, Elder John M. Young, Jacob Dawson, Luke Lavender, and five others conceived of establishing a Methodist female seminary near the salt flats. Land was purchased, and the village of Lancaster, named for the county, was platted, lying generally between what are now Vine, O, Fifth, and Fifteenth Streets. The seminary building was constructed just north of the northeast corner of Ninth and P Streets, amidst eight cabins scattered through the village. By 1867, the village had a population of about 30, living in a dozen crude cabins or dugouts and in the seminary building.

Through the late 1880s, salt extraction was attempted by many firms and individuals, including J. Sterling Morton. It was never a profitable commercial venture in Lancaster County.

When the Nebraska Territory was established in 1854, the first capital was located in Omaha through dubious maneuvers. This provoked the more populous settlers south of the Platte River, who even considered withdrawing from Nebraska and hoped to join the Union as part of Kansas, which rejected the idea. With statehood in 1867, the South Platte faction determined to remove the capital from Omaha at any cost. The notion of stipulating that the capital city, if ever moved from Omaha, would be named Lincoln failed to split pro-Confederate supporters away from other anti-Omaha forces. After the Capital Commission investigated several sites, the village of Lancaster was chosen and renamed Lincoln on July 29, 1867.

In August 1867, Augustus Harvey completed a grid plat for the new city with the north-south streets numbered and the east-west streets lettered. An auction of lots was announced in August to raise funds for building the first state capitol and operating Nebraska’s first state government. After an unpromising start, enough lots were sold that the Capital Commission could advertise first for an architect and then for a contractor to build the capitol. Only one architect and one contractor offered bids, both of whom were from Chicago, although it was hoped that only Nebraska labor and materials would be used for the structure.

By mid-December 1868, state auditor John Gillespie was satisfied that the building was sufficiently completed that he could make plans to move the furniture and records of the state from Omaha to Lincoln. By moving the capital from Omaha during a blizzard and under the cloak of darkness, the relocation was accomplished without Omaha being able to raise any concerted effort to stop it.

The legislature made a strategic decision to locate not just the capital but also a state university, a penitentiary, and an insane asylum in Lincoln, instead of scattering the institutions. The state senate provided for the charter of the University of Nebraska in February 1869 and authorized the expenditure of $100,000 to construct the first building.

Both the capitol and the university buildings suffered from poor building materials. The stone capitol building virtually dissolved within a few years, and much of the foundation of the university crumbled before the building could even be occupied. Still, the state government was in business and the university reported eight students enrolled for the first term, along with 12 irregulars and 110 in the preparatory school.

In order to ensure that the capital city would prosper, the legislature encouraged the establishment of a railroad connection. The state, Lancaster County, and the City of Lincoln all offered inducements to the first railroad to reach the city. The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad began building a connection from Plattsmouth, but missed deadlines in May and early July 1870. A shortage of rails delayed its arrival, but, on July 26, 1870, the Burlington reached Lincoln. Soon, three additional railroads entered Lincoln, ensuring competition for freight rates and good passenger service.

Lincoln quickly outgrew village status. By 1870, the capital city had an estimated 2,500 residents and nearly 350 buildings—including nine churches, one bank, and two hotels—valued at $456,956. Omaha, still stinging from losing the capital, offered the idea of Lincoln retaining the insane asylum and penitentiary and Omaha getting the capitol and university back. When this failed, Edward Rosewater, editor of the Omaha Bee, and several state legislators charged that the capital removal was illegal. In 1871, the legislature drew up 12 articles of impeachment against Gov. David Butler, including charges that he had made personal use of state funds. Ultimately, all charges but one were dismissed. On the remaining charge, Butler was removed from office. Political turmoil, widespread depression, drought, and grasshopper infestation halted Lincoln’s initial prosperity.

A scant two decades passed between the construction of the first state capitol and the completion, in sections, of the second capitol. By then, Omaha’s rumblings about capital removal had subsided.

Before another two decades had passed, the second capitol began to settle, causing plaster to fall and windows to break. In 1919, a different capitol commission announced a contest to design a new building. Nebraska architects were allowed to submit plans first, after which the competition was opened to other architects. The unique 400-foot-tower design of Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue of New York City was chosen. The cornerstone was laid on November 11, 1922. The new building was built in stages around the old one so that offices could be moved directly from