• Built: circa 1900
• Address: 2811 Caldwell Street
• Architecture: Antebellum
• Demolished: circa 1965

Originally called Riverview, the original home on this lot was built before 1900 and was said to be “one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the city.” It was located on a high hill overlooking much of the early Omaha city with a view to the Missouri, and in 1900 was shown on maps as a large estate covering two blocks.

Meet the Martin Family

Bought for Hulda C. Martin (1861-1934) and her husband James W. Martin (1859-1927) in 1904, the property was a gift from Hulda’s father. James Martin was a struggling industrialist who originally manufactured cooking devices in a small town in Iowa. Wanting to send their sons to the relatively new Creighton College, the Martins moved to Omaha and lived in a variety of places before moving to Caldwell Street. During this era, North 28th and Caldwell was on the northwestern edge of the city and much of the area beyond it was not developed yet. The family included 10 children who lived in the home, worked in the family business and went to nearby schools including Creighton.

Sitting on four lots covered with fruit trees, large shade trees and a fine lawn, the home was widely known. The original 10-bedroom house was covered in brick and wood, and by 1910 there was a new barn, all near the southwest corner of North 28th and Hamilton Streets.

James Martin’s manufacturing business was in large plant in the East Omaha Factory District. After his buildings there burned down three times, he eventually closed up shop, and in 1913 the Martins sold Riverview to William F. Thomas.

In 1917, A. M. Hough was contracted to rebuild the 2-story home to include 2,880 square feet. As the president of the National Investment Company, Martin needed a fine home for his growing family. The mansion had huge two-story, columned home built in style of a Southern plantation mansion. Newly redone, the home had 14 rooms and a dance hall with two indoor bathrooms on a half-acre. There was also a double garage, servants quarters, as well as a large chicken house. The style of architecture on the home was called Antebellum, and while that was renowned for being a Deep South style, this North Omaha home had front pillars, a house-wide balcony, large evenly spaced windows, and a symmetrical appearance.

Alfred and Elnora Brooks Jones

By 1920, the mansion became the home of Alfred and Elnora Brooks Jones and was renamed Hillcrest. Alfred Jones was a successful African American businessman with “a varied and colorful career” who ran barber shops, cafes, and entertainment businesses as well as real estate and insurance agencies. He’d been a caterer in Omaha since 1888.

Elnora Brooks Jones was one of the first African American graduates of Omaha High School.

Starting around 1923, the Jones operated his catering business and a popular cafe at the house. Elnora and Al’s seven children worked in the business alongside their parents as cooks, waiters, maids and more. Renting out the mansion as an event space, the residence was the site of parties, concerts, church and social activities. In 1925, the Hillcrest restaurant was closed for several months, but reopened early in 1926. Later that year, the chicken coop on their property was burned down, causing $1,000 damage.

During the next few years, Jones’ operated a business as an employment company from the home. He hired African Americans as “help” to white people, including as maids, cooks, chauffeurs, waitresses, laundresses, nurses, janitors and servers. and more. That business continued for the next several years.

Elnora died in 1931. That same year, the “Al Jones Inn” appeared in the newspaper. However, it didn’t stick, and in 1933 Jones rebranded his business as the “Southern Club” at the same address.

At Its End

Alfred died in 1936. Elnora and Alfred’s daughter Florence Jones ran the catering business for a few years after her fathers’ death, but didn’t continue past 1939. From 1940 to 1945, Hillcrest was a “convalescence home.” By the 1950s the mansion was made into apartments, and stayed that way for a decade.

The mansion was demolished by the late 1960s.

In 1967, the lot was selected to become one of GOCA’s temporary “recreation areas” for poverty-ridden areas.

Today, you can visit the site of Hillcrest. However, there is no historical marker, plaque or monument to this important home in North Omaha history.

Thanks to Matt Martin for his contributions to this article!

You Might Like…

• A Biography of Alfred and Elnora Jones
• A History of Mansions and Estates in North Omaha
• A History of Community Leaders in North Omaha
• A History of African American Firsts in Omaha, Nebraska

Bonus Pics!