The St. Nicholas Hotel, originally called the Claim House, was located near 12th and Jackson Streets in present-day

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. It was the first building in Omaha, the first hotel, and hosted the first church service in Omaha. The

Omaha Claim Club The Omaha Claim Club, also called the Omaha Township Claim Association(1954 ''Omaha's First Century''. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 7/14/07. and the Omaha Land Company, was organized in 1854 for the purpose of "encouraging the building of a city"Mo ...

met in the building regularly, as well.

History

The Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry Company built the Claim House to encourage settlers to use their

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

. The first operators of the building,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and Rachel Snowden, named it the St. Nicholas Hotel and ran it during the summer and fall of 1854. The first church service in Omaha was held by Reverend Peter Cooper of neighboring

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

on August 13, 1854. A

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

, the St. Nicholas Hotel consisted of one main room and an attached kitchen. Travelers and early settlers found temporary residence there, along with church services, dances and public meetings."New City Shapes Up on a Muddy Plateau; 'Claims Club' Is Ruler"
''Omaha's First Century.'' Retrieved 6/17/08.

References

Defunct hotels in Omaha, Nebraska Pioneer history of Omaha, Nebraska Hotel buildings completed in 1854 History of Downtown Omaha, Nebraska 1854 establishments in Nebraska Territory {{US-hotel-stub

History

See also

References