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JOHN GALT BLVD.
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Named for a character in
Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged who never arrives. So named because
the street did not go anywhere. |
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J. E. GEORGE
BLVD.
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John
Edward George founded the real estate firm George & Company with his brother, Charles S.
George. A member of the city planning commission, Ed George was
the primary mover behind the St. Mary's Ave. grading project and
worked toward other city improvements. He died in an automobile
accident near Fairmont, NE in 1921. |
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EDWARD “BABE”
GOMEZ AVE.
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Edward “Babe” Gomez, born in South Omaha, was killed during the
Korean War. He fell on a grenade to save comrades, earning the
Congressional Medal
of Honor. |
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GIFFORD DR.
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Dr. Harold Gifford Sr., a founder of
Fontenelle Park and a naturalist, was a member of Omaha medical
societies and a faculty member of the Omaha Medical College. |
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GREBE ST.
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Henry Grebe came to Florence,
Nebraska in 1857 and practiced the carriage and wagon making trade.
He moved to Omaha in 1861 and twice served in the Territorial
Legislature. After a stint on the City Council, Grebe was elected
sheriff of Douglas County in 1869 and was reelected in 1871 for
another four years. While sheriff, he broke up the three-card monte
gang of William "Canada Bill" Jones. (Three-card monte was less a
game than a scam or swindle. The dealer manipulated his three cards
to ensure the victim couldn't win.) Meanwhile Grebe found time
to invent the Grebe Hay Sweep and the Stalk Rake, and was a member
of the 1875 Constitutional convention. |
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HAMILTON ST.
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Charles W. Hamilton, an early settler, became
a well-known banker, a financial supporter of the Hamilton Hotel
(where it was said, “Champagne flowed freely as water”), a president
of the U.S. National Bank, and an activist for the South Omaha
stockyards. |
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HANSCOM BLVD.
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Andrew
Jackson Hanscom was present at the July 4, 1854, picnic founding
Omaha and became one of its most colorful figures in law, real
estate, and politics. He was noted in his early days as one who
would “soon as fight as eat,” a quality he demonstrated as the first
speaker of the territorial legislature. He and James C. Megeath
donated the land for what became Hanscom Park. During the Mexican
War he served as a captain. |
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HARNEY ST.
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General
William S. Harney was a career army officer and Indian fighter.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was commander of the Department
of the West. |
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HARRIS ST.
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Matt Harris was the proprietor of a classy gambling house for
“high rollers” in Omaha’s rough and ready early days. On one
occasion he returned, at gunpoint, $3,000 to a gambler who had
accused Harris of cheating. Harris gave him the money and left the
room. Returning with two guns, he got the money back. |
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HASCALL ST.
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Isaac
S. Hascall was an early Omaha pioneer who served as a probate
judge, a member of two constitutional conventions, a state senator,
and three times a city councilman. Hascall was considered a
professional politician who was shrewd and tricky and “carried the
votes of the Second Ward in his inside vest pocket.” |
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HIMEBAUGH AVE.
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Pierce
C. Himebaugh is credited for his years of effort on behalf of
Omaha’s YMCA, serving for seven years as its president. As a
businessman he was involved with the Omaha Illuminating Company, the
Omaha Union Grain Company, and the Dime Savings Bank of Omaha, where
you could make a deposit for less than a dollar. |
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HOCTOR BLVD.
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Thomas Hoctor came to Douglas County in 1875,
settling in what became South Omaha. He was elected South Omaha city clerk
in 1888, before he was 21 years old. He held the offices of city
treasurer and county commissioner before he was elected mayor in
1906 and again in 1912. The press referred to him as
“the man with a heart as big as a
barrel.” He opposed the annexation of the “Magic City” by Omaha but
ultimately lost the battle. While on a train in 1927, he suffered a
perforated ulcer and died before reaching a hospital. |
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HOWARD ST.
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There are three or more theories behind this street
name. Some claim it was named for the father-in-law of Henry Farnam.
Other authorities say it was named for Thomas P. Howard, a member of
the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804. A third faction backs
General Tilman A. Howard, special envoy from the U.S. to Texas,
whose “good offices” brought Texas into the union. |
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HUMMEL RD.
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Joseph Hummel served for many years as the
city commissioner for Parks and Boulevards, working to provide Omaha
with a system of beautiful parks. Hummel Park is also named for him.
Hummel had his own way of pronouncing words, for example, he once
announced, “the rains had inunadated the streets.” |
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IZARD ST.
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Mark W. Izard became territorial governor in
February 1855, taking the place of the recently deceased Francis
Burt. The only governor’s ball held in Omaha was held in Izard’s
honor. The freezing February temperatures turned the dance floor
into an ice rink as the water used to scrub the floor froze in the
heatless room. |
