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A T R A N D O M
Goldenrod . . . . our symbol
of "the 50th Y E A R." was adopted as
Nebraska's state flower April 4, 1895.
NEBRASKA STATE MOTTO is 'Equality before the law'
STATE BIRD is Western meadow lark.
NEBRASKA is an Otoe Indian word meaning 'flat water'.
WYUKA is an Indian word meaning "place to lie-down-and-sleep" (Otoe) . . . "Wyuka" in Lincoln is really a State cemetery, appropriated by the legislature of 1869 . . . 50 acres for state institution burials . . . 50 acres for the city of Lincoln.
A T R A N D O M
--in 1880
RUTHERFORD H. HAYES was President of the United States.
ALBINUS NANCE was Governor of Nebraska.
JOHN B. WRIGHT was Mayor of Lincoln.
Lincoln real and personal property was valued
$1,496,000 . . . cost $12,000 to run the city . . . lots sold
cheap . . . Mrs. Kelly sold home and lot near 12th and 0 sts. for
$2,300 . . . L. C. Burr bought the John Kerr property at 13th and
O for $2,500 . . . J. S. Atwood sold two lots at 13th and Q for
$1,000 . . . State property valued at $360,000,000 with a
population of 457,542 . . . today (1930) average is $4,000 per
capita; sixth state in the United States . . . 63,387 farms in
Nebraska in 1880.
Four banks were in Lincoln in 1890 . . . State
Bank of Nebraska established in 1871 . . . became State National
Bank in 1872 . . . Marsh Bros., Masher & Co. (1878) . . .
became Capital National in 1880 . . . First National Bank of
Lincoln founded in 1871; Judge Amassa Cobb president . . . John
Fitzgerald president in 1880 . . . Lancaster County Bank (1877) .
. . six more banks were organized in the 80's
There were 13,000 souls and 13 churches in
Lincoln in 1880 . . . St. Paul Methodist Episcopal was established
in 1868 . . . German Methodist Epis-
A T R A N D O M
copal (First Nebraska Legislature donated 3 lots at 15th and M)
. . . Trinity Methodist Episcopal (1878) . . . First Presbyterian
(1869) . . . Swedish Evangelical Lutheran (1870) . . . St. Paul's
German Evangelical (1873) . . . First Baptist (1869) . . .
Christian (1869) . . . Roman Catholic (1847) . . . Congregational
(1866) . . . Holy Trinity Episcopal (1869) . . . First
Universalist society (1870) . . . First African Methodist (1873) .
. . meetings of these were held in homes, school buildings, old
Capitol and tar covered unused buildings.
Lodges in 1880 included I. O. O. F. established
in 1868 . . . Daughters of Rebekah (1870) . . . Germanic "62"
(1877) . . . Knights of Pythias (1868) . . . A. A. Scottish Rite
of U. S. (1873) . . . G. A. R. (1878).
Newspaper reported that Alderman Walsh favored
only one policeman in 1880 . . . that Lincoln was just recovering
from grasshopper scourge . . . that covered wagons wended westward
daily through Lincoln.
Edmund B. Fairfield . . . chancellor of
University of Nebraska . . . lived in a pretentious home opposite
the Capitol on H . . . later home of John B. Wright, mayor in 1880
and 1881--now (1930) home of Delta Chi . . . "Prep" school gave
six years on the University Campus . . . University hall too large
. . . men used third floor and attic for dormitory . . . Clem
Chase and Dan Wheeler were widely
A T R A N D O M
advertised "gilded youths" because they boarded at the Clifton
House . . . must have paid as much as six dollars a month .
Ladies' Hall charged 50 cents a week for a room . . . Ladies
provided their bedsteads . . . Ellen Smith was first woman teacher
of U. of N. . . . came in 1877 . . . stayed 24 years . . . 2,781
volumes were in the University library . . . University social
life included literary society, Friday night . . . Palladian . . .
Adelphian . . . University Union . . . Church attendance on Sunday
. . . there were no athletics . . . the all-university interest
was "The Hesperion" student paper . . . College of Agriculture
opened with 15 students . . . on Moses Culver farm . . . 320 acres
were bought in 1874.
High School graduating class in 1880 included
six . . . Della Cox, Alice W. Coy, Sadie A. Lease, Walter C.
Davis, Fred H. Hathaway. W. E. Hardy . . . the latter gave the
salutary which the press reported was "short, sweet and to the
point" . . . nine instructors in the high school . . . 105
pupils.
Artesian well near the Post Office was noted for
its medicinal waters . . . was used for drinking and medicinal
baths. . . . C. H. lmhoff was first boy in town to own a bicycle .
. . had a 52 inch wheel . . . cheapest wheels were $90 . . .
Prescott's music store had an Orchestrion . . . wound like a clock
and "played heavenly music without touching the keys" . . . Mr.
Young drove his horse from Waverly to Lincoln under 50 minutes and
won a wager with the
A T R A N D O M
young crowd . . . one telephone in a neighborhood was handy in
case of fire . . . free concert was given over the telephone . . .
9 persons listened in to "sweet strains from a music box in Judge
Hull's office" . . . . press stated grocers and butchers would
have to have telephones sooner or later . . . Journal received
first local item via telephone from Gran Ensign.
Lieut. Webster showed a funny invention to hold
the moustache out of the way . . . little clips to keep it back .
. . press reported that this may replace the moustache cup.
Doctors came to the Prairie Capital . . . in
1880 F. G. Fuller was the oldest resident physician. Wm. S. Latta
came in 1873, B. L. Paine in 1878, A. R. Mitchell in 1879, L. N.
Robbins (1869), L. J. Bumstead (1871), C. C. Radmore (1870),
Milton Lane (1879) Horace Chapin (1879) . . . others here in 1880
included H. S. Grimes, D. H. Muir J. G. Davis, E. B. Righter, N.
J. Beachley, J. B. DeNayer, H. D. Gilbert, J. D. Leslie, and C. W.
Oviatt.
Lawyers were many . . . in 1880 there were S. B.
Pound who came to Lancaster in 1867. L. W. Billingsley (1869), D.
G. Hull (1969), C. C. Burr (1868), J. E. Philpott (1867), S. J.
Tuttle (1869), W. F. Chapin (1856), Allen Field (1861), Julius
Cadman (1859), T. P. Kennard (1868). H. H. Blodgett (1869), S. B.
Galey (1868), A. L Palmer (1868), C. O. Whedon (1870), A. C.
Ricketts
A T R A N D O M
(1870), E. P. Holmes (1870), T. M. Marquette (1874), L. C. Burr (1872), N. S. Harwood (1871), N. C. Abbott (1871), A. J. Sawyer (1875), G. M. Lambertson (1874), M. L. Easterday (1876), John C. Johnson (1876), J. H. Ames 1875), J. R. Foxworthy (1873), A. G. Scott (1872), W. J. Lamb (1875), H. V. Hoagland (1877), J. L Caldwell (1878), T. F. Horace (1875), S. H. Burnham (1880), W. Q. Bell (1880), L. W. Wheaton (1880) . . . other lawyers here in 1880 were M. H. Sessions, Geo. K. Amory, Chas. L. Harris, H. S. Jennings, C. N. Damron, F. F. Runyan, N. S. Scott, Chas. H. Tanner, Judge J. C. Crocker, J. P. Lantz, J. A. Marshall, S. P. Vanatta, C. M. Parker, and R. W. Taylor.
--during the 80's
An invention. a new industry, and a law . . . changes . . . changes . . . carriage makers are scarce now (1930), but in 1880 P. W. O'Connor was a well known carriage maker, (His son is Father O'Connor of Havelock)--after him came many other makers of wagons and carriages. Harness makers flourished . . . Wittmann Bros . . . J. H. Woodward ... Letteridge & Clark, Riordan, Fox & Co. made wagons . . . S. J. Dobson and J. A. Buckstaff had a tannery . . . there were three soap factories . . . C. C. Spencer owned one . . . Sargent, Eldridge & Co. another . . . and C. H. Kinney the third. Breweries were
