The Douglas House was the second hotel in Omaha, Nebraska. Located in present-day Downtown Omaha on the southwest corner of 13th and Harney Streets, the hotel housed influential politicians, speculators, and the first court trial in the Nebraska Territory. A two-story frame structure, it supplemented the earlier St. Nicholas Hotel.

History

Built in the fall of 1854 by David Lindley, the building used wood-frame construction and was reported to be primitive in accommodations and "completely inadequate as sleeping comfort and the necessities of life were concerned." For several years the dining room had no floor and tables were made of rough cut cottonwood boards supported by poles driven into the ground, with beds made of bed sheets stuffed with

prairie grass Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

. The hotel became the city's first post office in 1855, only to be usurped by a new dry goods store called the Big Six."Douglas County"
''Andreas' History of Nebraska.'' Retrieved 3/30/08. On July 4, 1855, Omaha's first ball was held at the Douglas House, along with a barbecue to celebrate the first anniversary of the city's founding. Efforts to

enfranchise Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

the women of Nebraska date to as early as 1855 when suffragist Amelia Bloomer spoke before an audience at the Douglas House. Local missionaries were invited to hold services at the House in 1856, after the original Nebraska Territory state house was sold. The churches included Methodists, Congregationalists,

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

and

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

ians. In 1861 the hotel housed six patients during a smallpox outbreak. The building still stood in 1883.Sala, G.A. (1883) ''America Revisited.'' London: Vizetelly. p 158.

References

{{Pioneer Omaha Hotel buildings completed in 1854 Demolished hotels in Omaha, Nebraska Pioneer history of Omaha, Nebraska Hotels established in 1854 1854 establishments in Nebraska Territory

History

See also

References