Media Center
Looking for Lincoln media resources, pictures of Lincoln or the latest news?
Visit our media center for the information you need.
History
Once considered part of the “Great American Desert,” Lincoln today is a flourishing oasis for business and culture. The city was founded as the village of Lancaster in 1859 by a group of prospectors hoping to build a salt industry from the salt basin of what is now called Salt Creek. Not long thereafter, the group turned from salt mining to agriculture, which would become the mainstay of the state's economy.
When Nebraska gained statehood in 1867, most of Nebraska's population lived south of the Platte River. For the “South Platters,” who had to cross the Platte to do business in the capital city of Omaha, the journey was an arduous one. So it was no surprise when the South Platters voted to move the capital seat as far west as possible.
On the same day Nebraska became a state—March 1, 1867—Lancaster replaced Omaha as the state capital and was renamed “Lincoln” to honor our 16th president who had been assassinated just two years earlier. This caused quite a stir among constituents, whose sentiments were mixed regarding who should have won the Civil War.
Lincoln continues to be the seat for Nebraska's state government today. Our skyline is dominated by the State Capitol, designed by famed architect Bertram Goodhue and constructed from the same Indiana Limestone used to build the Chrysler Building in New York City. The Capitol took 10 years to build and was later declared the Fourth Architectural Wonder of the World by American Institute of Architects. To this day, the Capitol is home to the Nebraska Unicameral, the only one-house, nonpartisan governing body in the United States.
Nebraska's legislature has been working for more than 50 years to accommodate Lincoln's shift from a rural economy to the growing metro area we have today.
A Briefer History of Lincoln, Nebraska
by Ed Zimmer, Lincoln/Lancaster County Planning Department
The new state of Nebraska established Lincoln as its capital in 1867, supplanting the earlier town of Lancaster on the same site. The Lancaster settlers, like native people before them, were attracted by saline wetlands along Salt Creek, a reminder of the prehistoric inland sea that covered this area. Industrial production of salt proved unprofitable, but Lincoln's environmental diversity is still enriched by very rare saline wetland habitats.
A substantial townsite was platted in 1867 for the new capital city, with wide streets, park land, a campus for the yet-to-be-founded state university, and an ample Capitol Square. The University of Nebraska attracted a number of private colleges in the 1880s and 1890s which established campuses in satellite towns just outside Lincoln. Nebraska Wesleyan University and Union College remain thriving educational institutions, while the towns they spawned became distinctive neighborhoods within the expanding capital city.
Lincoln annexed the adjacent communities in the 1920s to reach a population of 80,000 by 1930. Nebraska's distinctive State Capitol was built in the decade 1922-32, with a beautiful 400 foot tower which is visible throughout the city and surrounding countryside. Lincoln's stable, diversified economy and its roles as state capital and home of the University of Nebraska have led to very steady population growth throughout the 20th century, averaging about 1% a year to reach a current population of over 275,000 in Lancaster County, with 90% residing within the well-planned city limits.
Lincoln Trivia
- Charles Lindbergh learned to fly in Lincoln. He took lessons at Lincoln Airplane and Flying School where Lincoln Memorial Park is today.
- Nebraska's Capitol is one of only four “skyscraper” capitols in the United States. It was built on a pay-as-you-go basis for $9.8 million over a 10-year period.
- Dick Cavett graduated from Lincoln High School.
- Johnny Carson attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
- At the intersection of 13th & O Streets is a large brick star. Legend has it this is the exact spot where the American West begins.
- The State Capitol and University of Nebraska State Museum are nationally recognized as one of the best attended Nebraska attractions
- The Lincoln Municipal Airport is among the emergency landing sites for the NASA Space Shuttle, and the top location located within the non-coastal United States.
