A History of Archaeology in North Omaha

North Omaha is home to the ancient and the recent. With a historic record of more than 3,000 years of inhabitants, its important to study, research and examine the past in the community in order to connect with what is happening today. This is a history of archaeology in North Omaha.

Studying the Past in North Omaha

Missouri Indian, Otoe Indian, and chief of the Ponca by Karl Bodmer, c. 1840–1843 — Members of the Jíwere–Ñút’achi Nation are shown in an image entitled “Missouri Indian, Otoe Indian, and chief of the Ponca” by Karl Bodmer, c. 1840–1843.

Archaeology in North Omaha can help us understand the past by studying the physical things that remain. Excavating historical sites, locating and recording every object and feature, analyzing the finds in a lab, and interpreting North Omaha’s past can help us understand how people lived.

There have been nosey people poking around Omaha looking for the past for much longer than the city’s existence. For example, on July 27th, 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition landed on the west bank of the Missouri River. Near the landing, William Clark examined mounds that might have been part of a historic village belonging to the Jíwere–Ñút’achi, or Otoe Nation.

Perhaps the earliest formal archaeology in North Omaha happened at the turn of the 20th century.

Yvonne McCandless and Dr. Robert Fletcher Gilder, sitting in her home in the Ponca Hills of North Omaha, Nebraska. Pic courtesy of Heather Russell.

In 1903, an archeologist named Robert Gilder came from the University of Nebraska to excavate sites in the Ponca Hills. Focused on “indigenous sites” in Florence and northward, he located several sites of pithouses and a village. Gilder continued his digs over the years, later naming his dug up skeletons the “Nebraska man.” However, his work has been discounted since then and re-evaluated in modern research. However, at the time Florentines were particularly impressed with his work. The newspaper reported, “When Florence people see Gilder hiking over the fields with a spade, they expect to hear of some new discovery of his.”

Ponca Hills Omaha Nebraska archeology — This April 24, 1938 newspaper headline highlights recent archaeology in the Ponca Hills.

In 1938, the Nebraska State Historical Society unearthed a burial site in the Ponca Hills. Their excavation was 135′ long, 15′ wide and four feet deep. Early estimates placed their finds from 400 A.D., with skeletons, pottery and other implements found, too. Assisted by laborers from the Works Progress Administration, the findings were brought to the Nebraska State History Museum in Lincoln. They were associated with earlier findings by Gilder.

This image, called Figure 1: Known Sites Near Fort Lisa, shows "Sites near Fort Lisa that have been identified by archaeologists. Most of these places are mentioned in documents describing the fort’s location." It was created by Brian Goodrich in 2019. — This image, called Figure 1: Known Sites Near Fort Lisa, shows “Sites near Fort Lisa that have been identified by archaeologists. Most of these places are mentioned in documents describing the fort’s location.” It was created by Brian Goodrich in 2019.

Other archeological digs have happened in the Florence region, particularly in and near the Ponca Hills. They include the 1970s excavation of Jean Pierre Cabannѐ’s Trading Post. In 1980, a contractor excavating a sewer trench in Kountze Park came across parts of buildings from the 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition. Creating a stir from historians and history advocates in the city, preservationists and others showed up and started promoting the idea of archeological digs happening to uncover more from the event. However, nothing of substance came of it.

The location of the Engineer Cantonment was identified in 2003, and the site was excavated afterwards. In the late 2010s, the search for the lost location of the 1812 Fort Lisa was rewarded with two approximate sites, but not its exact location. Ground-penetrating radar has nearly identified the site and several important finds have been made, but its exact location still eludes searchers.

A ground penetrating radar survey was also used in 2015 at the top of the hill where the Cutler’s Park settlement was located, and a survey found the location of 69 grave sites. Today, it is marked with a monument on the private property, and a nearby historical marker has been restored.

The Future of the Past

This image is from the Omaha World-Herald on May 24, 1980.

North Omaha has a plethora of opportunities for further exploration in the field of archaeology. The paleoenvironment is an ancient environment preserved in marine sediments and rocks. Studying North Omaha’s paleoenvironments can help scientists understand past climates, biodiversity shifts, and geological events that continue affecting the area today. The prehistory and history of Plains and Midwestern Native Americans is evident throughout the natural and modern record, and studying North Omaha’s forensic data including genetics, nutrition, culture and technology could advance Middle American archaeology vastly.

Looking at European history in North Omaha, historical archaeology can use archaeological data and written records to understand the past. This website is well-footed in this multidisciplinary field and aims to understand the development of the community in the context of Omaha, Nebraska, the Midwest, and American history. Military sites, emigrant trails, settlement patterns and historical events in North Omaha could provide deep opportunities to grasp the broader phenomenon of American settlement, growth, stagnation and re-assertion.

There are several potential archeological sites in North Omaha that could be excavated in the future. They include…

North Market Square, Florence
North Omaha Bottoms
Town of East Omaha
DuPont Powder Magazine, Briggs
Arlena Lodge, DeBolt
Sulphur Springs
Cortland Beach, Carter Lake

Making these sites accessible for learning and teaching is a key to promoting historical appreciation and cross-cultural acceptance, too. Creating educational activities, interconnecting school and community from pre-kindergarten through graduate studies and beyond, and community-based learning is a key to archaeology in North Omaha, too.

Special thanks to Michaela Armetta for inspiring this article.

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Sources

Brigham Young University (n.d.) “About the Winter Quarters Project,” BYU. Retrieved 11/18/2024 at https://winterquartersbyu.earlylds.com/about/.
Diffendal, A.P. (1978) “A Centennial History of the Nebraska State Historical Society, 1878-1978,” Nebraska History 59: 311-437. Retrieved 11/20/2024 at .
Gilder, R.F. (1907) “Archeology of the Ponca Creek District, Eastern Nebraska,” American Anthropologist, 9(4), 702–719. Retrieved 8/18/2024 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/659485.
Goodrich, B.C. (2019) “The Search for Fort Lisa in the Vicinity of Omaha, Nebraska: A GIS Site Location Model.” Anthropology Department: Theses. 54. Retrieved 10/1/2024 at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/anthrotheses/54.

BONUS

Cabannè's Trading Post, North Omaha, Nebraska

These are images from the 1976 excavation of Cabennè’s Trading Post.