Trans-Mississippi Exposition

[
Frank Rinehart, 1898.]

The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Omaha, Nebraska from June 1 to November 1 of 1898. Its goal was to showcase the development of the entire West, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast. The Indian Congress was held concurrently. Over 2.6 million people came to Omaha to view the 4,062 exhibits during the four months of the Exposition. President William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan were among the dignitaries who attended at the invitation of Gurdon Wattles, the event's leader. 100,000 people assembled on the plaza to hear them speak. The Expo stretch over a convert|180|acre|km2|sing=on tract in North Omaha and featured a convert|2000|ft|m-long lagoon encircled by 21 classical buildings that featured fine and modern products from around the world. [ [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/trans_miss_expo_parade.htm Trans-Mississippi Exposition Parade."] Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 2/6/08.] [Larsen, L. and Cottrell, B. (1997) "The Gate City: A History of Omaha." University of Nebraska Press. p. 43.] [ " [http://www2.ops.org/OOE/govern3.htm When the World Came to Omaha] ."]

Timeline

The decision to hold Exposition was made in late 1897 by a small committee of Omaha businessmen determined to hold the Expo, led by banker Gurdon Wattles. [ [http://www.civilwarmuseumnc.org/TMbuilding.html Trans-Miss Expo Construction Timeline] ] In making their decision, the committee excluded several sites, including an area near 16th Avenue and Pershing Drive in East Omaha, near the now-dry Florence Lake. It was the preferred site for the Exposition early in 1897. [(1989) [http://www.omaha.lib.ne.us/transmiss/secretary/locating.html "Locating the Exposition"] Omaha Public Library.] convert|400|acre|km2 surrounding the tract that became Miller Park was considered the strongest contender towards the middle of the year. However, both sites ended up losing out to a site in North Omaha later in the year when Omaha banker Herman Kountze donated land in his Kountze Place development to the City of Omaha. After the Expo some of that land would become Kountze Park.

Many important developments happened throughout the city before the opening of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition. They included the opening of the Burlington Train Station in downtown Omaha. [Peterson, J. (1999) "Omaha railroad Stations."] The construction of the hundreds of temporary buildings at the Expo was notable because of the almost exclusive usage of a new, cheap and pliable building material called staff. It allowed Expo designers to construct visual reproductions of Grecian and Roman temples, fine European buildings, and more.

During the Expo, on August 31, 1898, the committee declared "Cody Day" in honor of Buffalo Bill Cody. Cody brought his "world-famous" Wild West Show back to the Omaha Driving Park where it was formally founded several years earlier. [" [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/markers/texts/buffalo_bill.htm Buffalo Bill at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition and Indian Congress of 1898] ." Nebraska State Historical Society.]

October 12 was "President's Day" at the Expo and featured a speech by President William McKinley focused on international affairs and the necessity of not being isolationist. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9407E5D7143CE433A25750C1A9669D94699ED7CF"Mr. McKinley on the war"] , "The New York Times." October 13, 1898. Retrieved 4/21/08.]

The following year after the Expo some members of its managing committee decided to host another Expo-type event, which became the Great American Exposition in summer 1899. [(n.d.) [http://www.civilwarmuseumnc.org/GAEnotes.html Great American Exposition Notes] ]

Commemoration

The Post Office Department issued a series of nine postage stamps to mark the Exposition, each depicting a Western scene. Now known as the Trans-Mississippi Issue and considered among the finest stamps produced by the US, they are highly prized by collectors; a complete unused set is worth about US$5,000.

A monument to the exposition was placed in Omaha's Kountze Park, the former site of the exposition, during a Centennial celebration of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in 1998.

See also

* Richard Bock - World-famous sculptor who designed several buildings at the Expo.

References

External links

* [http://www.omahapubliclibrary.org/transmiss/ The Omaha Public Library's Page on the Exposition]
* [http://www.historicomaha.com/transmis.htm Trans-Mississippi Exposition Omaha, Nebraska, 1898]
* [http://www.omahaculturefest.org/Omaha/TDO/graphics/tmemap.gifOverhead Map of the Trans Mississippi Exposition Grounds (1898)]
* [http://www.omahaculturefest.org/Omaha/TDO/graphics/tmeaerial.gifAerial pictorial of the TME grounds (1898)]
* [http://www2.ops.org/OOE/government.htm When the World Came to Omaha] , on the Omaha Public Schools website.