|
|
|
|
|
DAHLMAN AVE.
|
James
“Cowboy Jim” Dahlman, was Omaha’s “perpetual Mayor,” in office
from 1906 to 1930, except for 1918-21. A native Texan, he fled to
Nebraska because of problems with the law. He later claimed he had
shot his wife-abusing brother-in-law, but it may have been cattle
rustling that set the Texas Rangers after him. After a few years as
a cowboy in northwest Nebraska, he became sheriff of Dawes County
and served as mayor of Chadron. He began his long tenure as Omaha’s
mayor in 1906. |
|
DAVENPORT ST.
|
Davenport Street was named by a firm of bankers who
came from Davenport, Iowa, and established a bank in Florence. The
street was named in honor of their home town and also a leading
family of that city. |
|
DECATUR ST.
|
Stephen Decatur, an eccentric and mysterious
character, lived with the Omaha Indians and read the service at
Logan Fontenelle’s funeral. Rumors spread that Decatur was an
assumed name. Leaving his Nebraska family when his business affairs
went bad, he headed west for Colorado, where he became successful.
His family name was Dross, but he adopted the assumed identity when
he deserted his Pennsylvania wife and family. |
|
DEWEY AVE.
|
Charles
H. Dewey was a leading Omaha furniture dealer in the post-Civil
War years and advocate of a quality hotel for Omaha. In 1865
he entered the furniture business that became known as Dewey & Stone
Furniture Company. From a small local retail business, it grew to
reach the Pacific coast. |
|
DODGE ST.
|
Augustus Caesar Dodge,
a U.S. Senator from Iowa, was a strong supporter of westward
expansion beyond the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. An
eminent advocate of building a transcontinental railroad, in
December of 1853 he introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate for the
organization of the Nebraska Territory. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was
the result and opened the west to settlement and the founding of
Omaha on July 4, 1854. Some sources erroneously list the street's
namesake as Grenville Dodge, the chief engineer for the Union
Pacific Railroad. |
|
DORCAS ST.
|
Dorcas
Street was named by Samuel E. Rogers, pioneer and charter member of
the Territorial Council, after his mother's maiden name. |
|
DOUGLAS ST.
|
Stephen A. Douglas was an influential U.S. Senator from Illinois
who championed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill that resulted in Nebraska
becoming an organized territory. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was the
result, signed by President Pierce on May 30, 1854. The founding of
Omaha followed on July 4, 1854. Douglas opposed Abraham Lincoln as
the Democratic candidate for president in 1860. |
|
DREXEL ST.
|
Frederick Drexel, who came to Omaha in 1856, helped
incorporate the Cable Tramway Company and Immanuel Hospital. He was
a state legislatuor and the Douglas County Commissioner. A South
Omaha pioneer, he was active in the organization of public schools
and served as a director of the school district. In 1884 he built a
Gothic mansion of carved stone overlooking the Missouri River.
|
|
DUPONT ST.
|
Dupont
Street is so named because the Dupont Powder Company once had a
powder house in the grove near Gibson Station. This powder house was
blown up accidentally by four young men while out hunting, all of
whom were killed by the explosion. |
|
EMMET ST.
|
Emmet Street was probably named
for Robert Emmet, the Irish orator and patriot, as a
compliment to some of the Irish pioneers of Omaha. |
|
FARNAM ST.
|
A
banker of Hartford, CT, Henry Farnam was a principal promoter
of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. Farnam was Omaha’s
original “main” street. |
|
FLORENCE BLVD.
|
Florence
Boulevard was so named because it is the thoroughfare that leads to
Florence, a suburban town in the northeastern part of Douglas
County. The town and street were named for Florence Kilbourn,
niece of J. C. Mitchell, who helped organize the Florence Land
Company in 1854. |
|
FONTENELLE BLVD.
|
The
well-educated son of a French fur trader and an Omaha Indian,
Logan Fontenelle, at age sixteen, was appointed a U.S.
interpreter for the Omahas. Later named a principal chief of the
tribe, he was a negotiator for the selling of the tribal lands to
the government. Fontenelle urged the Omahas to gain an education and
be peaceful farmers. He was killed by Sioux warriors during a
buffalo hunt in 1855. |
|
FRANKLIN ST.
|
During America’s formative years, Benjamin
Franklin of Philadelphia became a famous writer, wit, scientist,
diplomat, politician, and philosopher. |
|
FUNSTON AVE.
|
Funston Avenue was named for General Frederick
Funston of Kansas, who won distinction in the Philippine war by
capturing Emillo Aguinaldo, the insurgent leader. |
