Sheelytown was a historic ethnic neighborhood in

South Omaha South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth, due to the rapid development of the Union S ...

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 ...

, USA with populations of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and other first generation immigrants. Located north of the

Union Stockyards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...

, it was bounded by Edward Creighton Boulevard on the north, Vinton Street on the south, South 24th Street to the east, and 35th Street to the west. Sheelytown was named for the Sheely Brothers Packing Houses that were located in the area. Sheelytown was annexed by Omaha in 1887. The

Omaha Quartermaster Depot 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 ...

was built just east of the community across the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

tracks.

History

Joseph Sheely ran a

meat packing plant The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...

near the railroad tracks southeast of

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 ...

. Workers in his plant occupied a small

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

immediately next to the plant that was named after their boss. Sheelytown was first occupied by

, who came in the 1860s and 1870s to work in the stockyards and meatpacking plants. Later when

and

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

immigrants arrived, they also settled in Sheelytown and South Omaha. The community was a

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

and

poor Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income< ...

area, often regarded as dirty and "uncivilized" by wealthier Omahans. In the early decades of the 20th century, the community had ex-officio mayors for many years, including Nicodemus Dargaczewski, who was a close ally of political bosses "Cowboy"

James Dahlman James Charles Dahlman (December 15, 1856 – January 21, 1930), also known as Jim Dahlman, Cowboy Jim and Mayor Jim, was elected to eight terms as mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, serving the city for 20 years over a 23-year-period. A German-America ...

and Tom Dennison. Around the start of the 20th century, members of the

Hanscom Park Methodist Episcopal Church Hanscom Park United Methodist Church is located at 4444 Frances Street in the Hanscom Park neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Established in 1886, the congregation has long been a leader in Nebraska Conference of the United Methodist Church, and ho ...

became concerned with the "lawlessness and destitute behavior" of workers in the neighborhood. They organized dances to compete with the "loose establishments" in Sheelytown. The dances routinely caused a stir among local residents, but were continuously held for many years.

Legacy

Adjacent to Sheelytown is the commercial area now called the

Vinton Street Commercial Historic District The Vinton Street Commercial Historic District is located along Vinton Street between Elm Street on the west and South 17th Street on the east in south Omaha, Nebraska. This district is located adjacent to Sheelytown, a residential neighborhood ...

. In 2006 it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The Polonairs of Omaha is a

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

band that recorded an album called ''Sheelytown On Parade'' on the Czech Records label.(nd
TK Frank's Polka Records
. Retrieved 2007-07-16.

References

Bibliography

* Larsen, L. and Cottrell, B. (1997) ''The Gate City: A History of Omaha.'' University of Nebraska Press. p. 158. * Sullenger, T.E. (1937) "Problems of Ethnic Assimilation in Omaha," ''Social Forces, 15'' (3) March. pp. 402–410. {{Coord, 41, 14, 01, N, 95, 56, 52, W, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:US-NE History of South Omaha, Nebraska Historic districts in Omaha, Nebraska Czech-American culture in Omaha, Nebraska Irish-American neighborhoods Irish-American culture in Omaha, Nebraska Company towns in the United States Neighborhoods in South Omaha, Nebraska Polish-American culture in Nebraska Populated places established in the 1860s Meatpacking industry in Omaha, Nebraska