O'MAIIA (ante), the chief city of Nebraska, though not its capital, on the w. bank of the Missouri river, lat. 41° 30' n. and long. 96° w. of Greenwich. Its site is upon a hilly plateau from 50 to 150 ft. above the river, and 950 ft. above the level of the sea, with planes fairly adapted to city improvements. Its name is derived from one of the tribes of Dakota Indians. The t. was laid out in 1854, became an incorporated city in 1859, and was platted on.ft scale of,i,nagn)tude that anticipated the growth of a great city. The territorial caNtal eva&litsit keit/eel as subsequently fixed at the city of .
Lincoln. It is the county seat of Douglass county. Omaha is 490 m. westerly by rail from Chicago; pop. '60, 18S3; '70, 16,083; '80, 30,518. Before the construction of the Union Pacific road, which began at this point, it was the most northerly outfittibg place for overland trains to the " far west." The aid of the government in the construction of the Union Pacific railway, and the choice of Omaha as its point ou the Missouri in 1864, made it the theater of great speculation in the belief that it was destined to an extraordinary growth. Its growth has in fact been rapid, though less so than was anticipated by some enthusiasts. It now has connections by the Union bridge across the Missouri, connecting it with the city of Council Bluffs on thy e. side, with a great radiating system of railways to all
points eastward, and with the country to the n., w., and s., by other roads of which it is the terminus.
The city is lighted with gas, has several street railway lines, a U.S. court-house and post office, which is the finest building in the city, and in which the U.S. court for the district of Nebraska sits; large and excellent school buildings, extensive railway struc tures, hotels, the state institution for the deaf and dumb, and many elegant residences and business houses. Its wholesale trade in 1875 amounted to $9,500,000. It then had a banking capital of $600,000. with bank deposits to the amount of $2,700,000. It has extensive iron works for making and rolling railroad iron, machine shops, and one of the most complete establishments in the country for smelting, separating, and refining the ores of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc; which come to Omaha to be treated from the mining regions of all the territories along the line of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railways. The city has 3 daily and 6 weekly newspapers, 3 monthlies, and 24 churches.