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The Lure of a Railroad Brought Capital to Omaha-- via Council Bluffs
The Lure of a Railroad Brought Capital to Omaha-- via Council Bluffs
Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas had long wanted the transcontinental railroad and all of its promised money to go through his home state of Illinois even when it was still in the planning stages. It became clear that he worked feverishly to use his power and influence to make the central route the chosen route across North America. He had to organize the land west of Illinois into territories and states in order to secure the railroad. That meant that places west had opportunity for the very same. Iowa and Council Bluffs were no different. Douglas ushered in the Kansas and Nebraska Act in 1854.
In June, 1853, several residents of Council Bluffs conceived the idea of uniting with Mr. Dee Brown in the formation of a ferry and town company. On the 25th Dr. Enos Lowe, Jesse Williams, Joseph H. D. Street , William D. Brown,James Jackson, Milton Tootle, Samuel S. Bayliss, Bernhardt Henn, Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, and the firms of Tanner & Downs and Street & Redfield, all of Council Bluffs. They crossed to Iowa in a newly-purchased steamboat and decided to found the city of Omaha. This was a precursor to securing the railroad through Council Bluffs by giving it a town to travel through on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River.
The organization of territories had protocol and officers. The territorial governor had to hold a census to determine where the territorial capital would be located. Francis Burt traveled from North Carolina only to die two days later. The next in line of succession was the territorial secretary, Iowan Thomas Cuming.
Stephen A. Douglas
On his way to Nebraska Territory, Cuming stayed at the Pacific House Hotel in Council Bluffs. It was here that Council Bluffs business leaders offered Cumimg a bribe to make Omaha the territorial capital of Nebraska. He took the bribe and set about cheating to hand his fellow Iowans in Council Bluffs the railroad route that they so desired.
Cuming immediately ordered a census to be taken and, on the basis of the results, designated counties and legislative districts, and apportioned legislators accordingly but he counted bar patrons and residents of Council Bluffs as citizens of Omaha. Cuming gave a greater number of legislators to the northern section even though Bellevue was far more populated. Florence and Bellevue still had higher populations than Omaha. Bellevue had the support of the region south of the Platte, and was probably the site which Governor Burt would have selected had he lived. Omaha, however, was the chosen site by Cuming despite protests.
The first session of the legislature to meet at Omaha in January 1855. Tempers rose so high that there was an abortive move to withdraw the South Platte region from the territory and annex it instead to Kansas. Kansas, however, had sectional problems of its own, and the move was not met with great enthusiasm there. Cuming’s Iowa sentiment and his stern hand on the executive reins rendered him unpopular, but he survived a censure motion and his pro-Iowa sentiment continued as indicated by the fact that although Omaha was his legal residence, he actually lived in Council Bluffs.
By Troy Stolp. Mr. Stolp is a graduate of Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs and holds degrees in Anthropology and Religious Studies from Iowa State University (BA) and History from Buena Vista University (BA) and University of Nebraska at Omaha (MA). Mr. Stolp serves on the board of directors of The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County and teaches at Lewis Central.
Francis Burt
Thomas Cuming
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