The Omaha Horse Railway was a private transportation company in early
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
. The company was founded in 1867 by
Omaha pioneers Ezra Millard
Ezra Millard (February 2, 1833 – August 20, 1886) was a U.S. politician who was mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, from 1869 to 1871. He was also brother to Joseph Hopkins Millard, another mayor of Omaha, and namesake of Millard, Nebraska.
Millard d ...
,
Andrew J. Hanscom and
Augustus Kountze
Augustus Kountze (November 19, 1826–April 30, 1892) was an American businessman based in Omaha, Nebraska, Kountze, Texas and New York City. He founded a late 19th-century national banking dynasty along with his brothers Charles, Herman and ...
to provide
horsecar
A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar.
Summary
The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...
service in the city. On February 19 of that year the
Nebraska Territory
The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska ...
Legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
awarded the company a 50-year franchise and exclusive rights to run tracks on Omaha's streets in its closing session. The company was noted for an 1888
United States District Court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
trial in which they sued another company for infringing on the exclusive rights to Omaha's streets granted to them by the
Nebraska Territory
The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska ...
Legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
.
[Foote, A.R. (1893) ''Economic Legislation of All the States: The Law of Incorporated Companies.'' ]Robert Clarke and Company Robert Clarke & Company was a book publishing company and bookseller in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1858 to 1909. After 1894, it was known as The Robert Clarke Company. It published literary and historical works.
Leadership
Robert Clarke was born May 1, ...
. p 1308.
History
The first formal meeting of the directors was held at the
Omaha National Bank
The Omaha National Bank Building was built in 1888–89 at 1650 Farnam Street in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in the Italian Renaissance style, the building was saved from demolition by a rehabilitation in 1978. Listed on the National Regist ...
on May 1, 1867. In the years following the founding of the company through the mid-1870s a boon period presided in Omaha, bringing the foundation of several businesses important to the city's growth, including the Horse Railway. The city expanded from to 24 within 15 years, and the Horse Railway struggled to keep up with it. The company switched from
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s to
mule
The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...
s and painted their cars yellow in an attempt to strengthen their image. By the late 1870s the line had of track, 10 cars, 70 horses, 20 employees and 495,000 passengers annually. After the company hit hard times in the mid to late 1870s, William W. Marsh purchased a controlling interest in the company from
A.J. Hanscom. His purchase was effective January 1, 1879.
In 1887 the Omaha Cable Tramway Company was founded, leaving the Horse Railway with a competitor. The companies merged in 1889. In 1888 the Horse Railway Company took the Cable Tramway Company and the
City of Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
to court on the grounds they violated the Horse Railway's exclusive 50-year franchise allotted to them by the Territorial Legislature. The City of Omaha held a public vote that gave the Cable Tramway the ability to compete, in violation of the Legislature's act. The courts found for the Cable Tramway Company, allowing them to share the streets; however, they did order the Cable Tramway Company repay the Horse Railway for losses due to intrusion upon that company's lines. The case was exceptional because the courts ruled that the exclusivity clause granted the rights to the company operating
horse railways, not
cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems:
* Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable
** Aerial tramway
** Chairlift
** Gondola lift
*** Bi ...
s. This interpretation allowed for competition in a formerly monopolized market, and was credited with changing the economic landscape of American
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
ation thereafter.
By 1902 the company that was formed became the
Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company
The Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company, known as O&CB, was incorporated in 1886 in order to connect Omaha, Nebraska with Council Bluffs, Iowa over the Missouri River. With a sanctioned monopoly over streetcar service in the two ci ...
, after the consolidation of several competitors in the previous 20 years.
Routes
When they incorporated the company the Legislature specified that the road should be built by 1869. After awarding the contract ground was broken for the first route from Cuming street south to Cass street, jogging to 18th and then along Capitol Avenue to South 15th. At Farnam it turned east and traveled to 9th to the
Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
, a total distance of about three miles (5 km).
A double track was laid on Farnam Street from 10th to 15th, and another from North 20th Street along Cuming to Saunders Street, following that street to Hamilton. Another track went from Cuming Street and 20th to 18th Street, following that street northwards to
Kountze Place The Kountze Place neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community on the city's north end. Today the neighborhood is home to several buildings and homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located betw ...
in what was then the extreme northern part of the city. A line ran from Capitol Avenue up North 16th Street to Izard Street, and Izard to 18th where it connected with the line running to Kountze Place. In the south end of
Downtown Omaha
Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, U.S. state of Nebraska. The boundaries are Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and ...
a track was laid from Farnam Street to 9th Street to Davenport, and from there to 10th to Farnam again. A track was then laid from Farnam down 15th and out Howard and St. Mary's Avenue to
Hanscom Park
Hanscom Park is a historic neighborhood in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Its namesake public park is one of the oldest parks in Omaha, donated to the City in 1872. U.S. President Gerald R. Ford was born in a house in the Hanscom Park neighborhood. Its ...
.
"Omaha Horse Railway"
''Andreas' History of Nebraska.'' Retrieved 6/10/08.
See also
* Railroads in Omaha
Railroads in Omaha, Nebraska, have been integral to the growth and development of the city, the state of Nebraska, the Western United States and the entire United States. The convergence of many railroad forces upon the city was by happenstance a ...
* Transportation in Omaha
Transportation in Omaha, Nebraska, includes most major modes, such as pedestrian, bicycle, automobile, bus, train and airplane. While early transportation consisted of ferries, stagecoaches, steamboats, street railroads, and railroads, the city's ...
References
{{OmahaStreetcars
History of Omaha, Nebraska
Tram, urban railway and trolley companies
Defunct companies based in Omaha, Nebraska
Railway companies established in 1867
1889 disestablishments in the United States
Streetcars in Omaha, Nebraska
1867 establishments in Nebraska