by DCHSADMIN | Dec 23, 2021 | Blog
By Rita Shelley Historically Omaha has attracted immigrants from all over the world. For Rajan Bhattarai from Kathmandu, Nepal, and Sneha Shah from the state of Gujarat in India, it was work that brought them here. Dawn Smejkal arrived by a different route, adopted...
by DCHSADMIN | Dec 8, 2021 | Blog
by Rita Shelley Most people can trace their heritage to the countries of their ancestors’ origins. For Omaha’s Italian American community, not only can many trace their lineages to Sicily, they can name the exact village, Carlentini. The connections between Omaha and...
by DCHSADMIN | Nov 5, 2021 | Blog
by Rita Shelley During the 19th and 20th centuries, two waves of Lithuanian refugees settled in Omaha, the first in the 1890s and the second after World War II. Though separated by half a century, the two groups shared a common imperative, to escape persecution. For...
by DCHSADMIN | Oct 14, 2021 | Uncategorized
By Natalie Kammerer This week, we wanted to do another highlight of an object in our collection, because it’s a great example of how one item can lead to a whole story with various levels of historical significance. Ralph H. Bradley was born in Missouri but spent the...
by DCHSADMIN | Sep 30, 2021 | Blog
Natalie Kammerer Erastus Benson was born in Iowa in 1854, and came to Omaha as a young man. Over the course of his life, he practiced law, taught school, edited a newspaper, was an important investor in Thomas Edison’s early inventions, and was one of the largest real...
by DCHSADMIN | Sep 17, 2021 | Uncategorized
By Natalie Kammerer The Omaha-based Wright & Wilhelmy Co. Wholesale Hardware firm was rather ubiquitous in eastern Nebraska for much of the 20th century. The company was founded by John F. Wilhelmy and H. Larson in Nebraska City in 1871. They functioned as both a...
by DCHSADMIN | Sep 3, 2021 | Blog
By Natalie Kammerer DCHS recently received a collection of materials that provides a rich glimpse into the lives of two female artists active in Omaha at the turn of the 20th century. May Murray (some records spell her name “Mary”) and Fannie Murray Bachman were born...
by DCHSADMIN | Aug 12, 2021 | Blog
The Early History of Waterloo, Nebraska Written by Natalie Kammerer Research by Josalyn Switzer The village of Waterloo in western Douglas County has a history almost as old as Omaha’s. The land was most notably settled by John H. Logan and Elias A. Kelsey, who...
by DCHSADMIN | Jul 30, 2021 | Blog
Omaha’s Auto Speedways Natalie Kammerer Most Omahans of just about any age are probably aware of Omaha’s horseracing history, with the Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack drawing huge crowds to 67th and Center Street for decades. But even farther back, Omaha and Council...
by DCHSADMIN | Jul 16, 2021 | Blog
Omaha’s Hanscom Park Natalie Kammerer Omaha’s oldest remaining park was formed in November 1872, when land developers Andrew J. Hanscom and James G. Megeath donated 57.6 acres near Park Avenue and Woolworth Streets to the city of Omaha. The land was part of their...
