LINCOLN. The second city of Nebraska, State capital and the county-seat of Lancaster County, 55 miles southwest of hnaha ; on the Burlington Route. the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Fremont. Elkhorn and Slissouri Val ley, the Union Pacific. and the Missouri Paeitie railroads (Map: Nebraska, II 3). The attractive city, with its tine wide avenues and modern busi ness blocks and homes, lies spread out on a level prairie. It is the seat of the University of Ne braska (q.v.), Nebraska Wesleyan University (Methodist Episcopal), Cotner University i('hris tian), Union College (Adventist f. The State Asylum for the Insane and the State penitentiary are located here. The noteworthy buildings in clude, besides these already indicated, the State Capitol, built of white limestone at a cost of $500,000. United States Government buildings, county court-house. Saint Elizabeth's Hospital and Home for the Friendless, and the new public library, costing $75.000. the gift of Andrew Car negie. In addition to the city library, there are the State, State Historical, and State University libraries.
The central position of the city and its rail road facilities make it an important distributing point for the agricultural and mechanical pro ductions of a large area. It has valuable quarries of limestone in the vicinity and deposit, of ex cellent clay. There are numerous grain elevators, the city being the centre of an important grain trade, and manufactories of upholstered goods, mattresses, brooms, dusters, overalls and shirts, flour, bricks. creamery product,. etc. The gov
ernment is vested in a mayor. elected every two years, a unicameral municipal council. and ad ministrative officials. many of whom are ap pointed by the executive with the consent of the council. The city clerk. treasurer. city attorney, city engineer. water commissioner. and police judge are chosen by popular election. and the library board is elected by the council. The water-works are owned and operated by the mu nicipality. Lincoln spends annually in mainte nance and operation about S350.010. the main items being 8120,000 for schools the water-works, 825.000 for time tire depart mem and $15,000 each for the police department and for municipal li!.hti»g. Population. in 1.-l70. 2111: in 1880. 13,003; in 1890. 55.154: in 190n. 40.10.
In 1859 the site of Lincoln was chosen for the location of a city to be called Lancaster, but there were hardly a dozen settlers there in 1S64, \\lien the place was laid out. Three years later, the inhabitants then numbering less than 30, Lancaster as chosen as the capital of Nebraska, and its name changed to Lincoln in honor of Abraham Lincoln. Consult Mayes and Cox, His tory of the City of Lincoln k Lincoln, Neb., 1889).