- Douglas House (Omaha)
-
Douglas House General information Town or city Omaha, Nebraska Country United States Construction started 1854 Completed 1854 Demolished After 1883 The Douglas House was the second hotel in Omaha, Nebraska. Located in present-day Downtown Omaha on the southwest corner of 13th and Harney Streets, the hotel housed influential politicians, speculators, and the first court trial in the Nebraska Territory.[1] A two-story frame structure, it supplemented the earlier St. Nicholas Hotel.
History
Built in the fall of 1854 by David Lindley, the building used wood frame construction and was reported to be primitive in accommodations and "completely inadequate as sleeping comfort and the necessities of life were concerned." For several years the dining room had no floor and tables were made of rough cut cottonwood boards supported by poles driven into the ground, with beds made of bed sheets stuffed with prairie grass.[2]
The hotel became the city's first post office in 1855, only to be usurped by a new dry goods store called the Big Six.[3] On July 4, 1855, Omaha's first ball was held at the Douglas House, along with a barbecue to celebrate the first anniversary of the city's founding.[4] Efforts to enfranchise the women of Nebraska date to as early as 1855 when suffragist Amelia Bloomer spoke before an audience at the Douglas House.[5]
Local missionaries were invited to hold services at the House in 1856, after the original Nebraska Territory state house was sold. The churches included Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists and Episcopalians.[6] In 1861 the hotel housed six patients during a smallpox outbreak.[3]
The building still stood in 1883.[7]
See also
- History of Omaha
References
- ^ Federal Writers Project. (1939) Nebraska. Nebraska State Historical Society. p 239.
- ^ "Creightons Arrived in '56; Church Bells Rang Over New City", HistoricOmaha.com. Retrieved 3/30/08.
- ^ a b "Douglas County", Andreas' History of Nebraska. Retrieved 3/30/08.
- ^ "Chapter XV", Romance of Omaha. Retrieved 3/30/08.
- ^ "Nebraska Women Suffrage Association", Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 3/30/08.
- ^ (1889) Life and Labors of Rev. Reuben Gaylord: Home Missionary for Iowa and Nebraska. Rees Printing Company. p 339.
- ^ Sala, G.A. (1883) America Revisited. London: Vizetelly. p 158.
Pioneer Omaha Early buildings Cozzens House Hotel · Douglas House · Herndon House · Jefferson Square · St. Nicholas Hotel · Prospect Hill CemeteryFounding figures Dan Allen · George Robert Armstrong · William D. Brown · William Byers · Edward Creighton · John A. Creighton · Mary Creighton · Harry Porter Deuel · Logan Fontenelle · Reuben Gaylord · Augustus Hall · Andrew J. Hanscom · Alfred D. Jones · Canada Bill Jones · Thomas Kennard · Augustus Kountze · Herman Kountze · George B. Lake · Enos Lowe · Jesse Lowe · John L. McCague · James G. Megeath · Frederick Metz · Ezra Millard · George L. Miller · James C. Mitchell · William A. Paxton · A. J. Poppleton · John I. Redick · Byron Reed · Elizabeth Reeves · Edward Rosewater · Peter A. Sarpy · Moses F. Shinn · John A. Smiley · William and Rachel Snowden · Josie Washburn · Anna WilsonNearby pioneer settlements Saratoga · Florence · Bellevue · Scriptown · Train Town · East Omaha · Kanesville, Iowa · Winter QuartersRelated topics Categories:- Demolished hotels in the United States
- Defunct hotels in Omaha, Nebraska
- Former hotel buildings in Omaha, Nebraska
- Pioneer history of Omaha, Nebraska
- Hotels established in 1854
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
