East Omaha was a town north of the City of Omaha that stood for 75 years. Since then, the name has become synonymous with the area of the city east of Florence Boulevard and North 14th Street and north of Carter Lake. Following are my articles related to this area.

Areas of the Community

• Town of East Omaha — Originally formed in the 1850s, there’s only one house in the area today
• Carter Lake — A city with no state for a long time, today the history needs recognized
• Winspear Triangle — Seen as a no-man’s land ripe for development, many schemes here could have made wealth
• North Omaha Bottoms — Trash, shanties, destitution and poverty struck this area for decades
• Sherman — Home to some of the oldest history in Omaha, this neighborhood clings to its old identity as a farming area
• Sulphur Springs — Lost to time, this was originally a docking area on the river and then roundhouses for the railroads. Today its almost all forgotten
• Edgewood Park — The first Black-owned real estate addition in Omaha completely lost its identity
• Bungalow City — A group of roguish vacationers loved their cabins on the lake
• Squatter’s Row — Struggling to survive on the edge of the city, this little are was wiped out by philanthropy

Businesses 

• East Omaha Truck Farms — Blanketing the area were mom-and-pop places growing fruits and vegetables
• Carter White Lead Company — One of the largest polluters in Omaha history left traces still identifiable now
• Nite Hawkes Cafe — Open in 1942, this is one of the oldest restaurants in Omaha today
• Railroads — Bridges, tracks, roundhouses and more have cut up East Omaha since 1865

Carter Lake

• A History of Carter Lake, Iowa — Cut-Off Lake, Lake Nakoma, Lake Nakomis and Carter Lake are all the same place. The lake and it’s city have history going back to 1877 and earlier
• Courtland Beach — Omaha’s foremost amusement park from 1899 to 1905
• Omaha Rod and Gun Club — From 1905 to 1912, this was an upscale resort packed with amenities
• Carter Lake Club — A private resort in 1917, this was a popular nightspot until it closed in 1975
• Sand Point Beach and Lakeview Amusement Park — From 1917 to 1935 this was the “joy place of Omaha”
• Omaha Auto Speedway — From 1910 to 1917, grandstands and speeding cars filled the area with noise

Levi Carter Park 

• Municipal Beach — Conceived in 1918, the CCC built bathhouses and an amusement park used it in the 1950s. It was grown over in the 1960s, and today there’s no sign of it aside from the Carter Lake Pavillion
• Bungalow City — From the 1880s to 1910, this was a small housing area within the park’s boudaries.
• Pleasure Pier and Kiddieland — An amusement park in Levi Carter Park from 1948 to 1962

People

• Selina Carter Cornish — Building her husband’s legacy occupied Selina’s life which lasted from 1850 to 1938
• Levi Carter — The namesake of Carter Lake was an industrialist who lived from 1830 to 1903
• Granny Weatherford — Reportedly born in 1831, Weatherford was a character who died 109 years later

Transportation

• Ames Avenue Bridge — Stood on Carter Lake from around 1890 to 1913 
• Eppley Airfield — Established in 1925 as the American Legion Airfield then as the Municipal Airport, it was renamed for Eugene Eppley in 1960
• 16th and Locust Streets — Once a busy crossroads, this intersection has been active since 1857
• JJ Pershing Drive — Originally built as River Drive in the 1920s, it was renamed for General Pershing in 1941
• North 16th Street — Known as Sherman Avenue starting in 1879, it was Omaha’s first “big street”
• Pulitzer Airfield — Located at North 16th and Read Street from 1921 to 1928

Other

• The Burning Lady — The ghost of Mabel Oakley’s death at Carter Lake in 1893 
• CCC Camp — Located in Levi Carter Park from 1935 to 1940
• Florence Lake — Drained by the City of Omaha in 1920, it was a popular place in pioneer times
• Pershing School — Opened in 1926 in the old town of East Omaha, it was closed permanently in 1976
• “Stink Creek” — Emptying by OPPD, the Minne Lusa Creek still flows, but under a neighborhood

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MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF EAST OMAHA
SEE ALSO: East Omaha History Tour
AREAS: Town of East Omaha | Carter Lake | Winspear Triangle | North Omaha Bottoms | Sherman | Sulphur Springs | Edgewood Park | Bungalow City | Squatter’s Row | Lakewood Gardens | East Omaha Factory District
BUSINESSES: East Omaha Truck Farms | Carter White Lead Company | Nite Hawkes Cafe | Railroads
CARTER LAKE, IOWA: Courtland Beach | Omaha Rod and Gun Club | Carter Lake Club | Sand Point Beach and Lakeview Amusement Park | Omaha Auto Speedway
CARTER LAKE PARK: Municipal Beach | Bungalow City | Pleasure Pier and Kiddieland
PEOPLE: Selina Carter Cornish | Levi Carter | Granny Weatherford
TRANSPORTATION: Ames Avenue Bridge | Eppley Airfield | 16th and Locust Streets | JJ Pershing Drive | North 16th Street | Pulitzer Airfield | Locust Street Viaduct
SCHOOLS: Beechwood School | Pershing School | Sherman School | St. Therese Catholic School
OTHER: The Burning Lady | CCC Camp | St. Therese Catholic Church | 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition

Listen to our podcast “A History of East Omaha” online now!

MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF NORTH 16TH STREET
Places: 16th and Locust Historic District | Charles Street Bicycle Park | State Bar and McKenna Hall | Storz Brewery | Warden Hotel | Grand Theater | Nite Hawkes Cafe | Tidy House Products Company | 2621 N. 16th St. | New Market | 3702 N. 16th St. | Sebastopol Amphitheater
Historic Homes: J.J. Brown Mansion | Poppleton Mansion | Governor Alvin Saunders Estate | Ernie Chambers Court aka Strehlow Terrace | The Sherman Apartments | The Climmie Apartments
Neighborhoods: Near North Side | Lake Street | Kountze Place | Saratoga | Sulphur Springs | Sherman
Events: 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition | 1899 Greater America Exposition | 1960s North Omaha Riots | “Siege of Sebastopol”

MY ARTICLES ABOUT HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS IN NORTH OMAHA
National Register of Historic Places Historic Districts in North Omaha: 24th and Lake Historic District | Benson Downtown Historic District | Country Club Historic District | Dundee/Happy Hollow Historic District | Fairacres Historic District | Fort Omaha Historic District | Minne Lusa Historic District | Nicholas Street Historic District
Historic Neighborhoods in North Omaha: Bedford Place | Belvedere Point | Bemis Park | Benson | Briggs | Bungalow City | Carter Lake, Iowa | Central Park | Clifton Hill | Collier Place | Creighton University | Crown Point | DeBolt | Druid Hill | East Omaha | Fairfax | Florence | Florence Field | Fort Omaha | Fontenelle View | Gifford Park | Gold Coast (Cathedral) | High Point | Jefferson Square | Kellom Heights | Kountze Place | Lakewood Gardens | Little Russia | Long School | Malcolm X Memorial | Miller Park | Miller Park Duplex Historic District | Monmouth Park | Montclair | Near North Side | North Downtown Omaha | Omaha View | Orchard Hill | Plum Nelly | Prettiest Mile in Omaha | Prospect Place | Raven Oaks | Redman | Saratoga | Sherman | Squatter’s Row | Sulphur Springs | Ponca Hills | Wakonda | Walnut Hill | Winspear Triangle | Wyman Heights
Lost Towns in North Omaha: Benson | Briggs | Cutler’s Park | DeBolt | East Omaha | Florence | Saratoga | Sulphur Springs | Winter Quarters

BONUS!