page_title: History of Lincoln, Nebraska
section_title: Pioneer Lincoln
hierarchical_section_title: History of Lincoln, Nebraska / 19th century / Pioneer Lincoln
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of "The Smoke Signal" (1935), a statue dedicated to the Nebraska Indian, by Ellis Luis Burman; as seen in Pioneers Park near Lincoln, Nebraska. Photo is looking northeast towards the front of the statue.
context_page_description: The history of Lincoln, Nebraska began with the settlement of the village of Lancaster in 1856. The county of Lancaster was founded in 1859. Prior to settlement from the westward expansion of the United States, Plains Indians, descendants of indigenous peoples who occupied the area for thousands of years lived in and hunted along Salt Creek. Settlers first came to extract salt from the wild salt flats of Salt Creek. Nebraska was granted statehood March 1, 1867. Soon afterwards a commission created by the State was appointed to locate the State Capital on State lands. The village of Lancaster was chosen for the Capital of Nebraska. The village of Lancaster became Lincoln. Lincoln was named after Abraham Lincoln. The first State Capitol was completed in 1868. Lincoln incorporated on April 1, 1869.
  By 1870, railroads began to use Lincoln as a stop westward, and by 1892, Lincoln was a rail center. In the early twentieth century, Volga-German immigrants from Russia began settling in the North Bottoms neighborhood. By 1911, the Omaha-Lincoln-Denver Highway established through Lincoln. By 1920 the first air field Union Airport was established northeast of Lincoln.
context_section_description: Prior to the expansion westward of settlers, the prairie was covered with buffalo grass.  From 1847 to 1860, the cattle of the west-bound ox trains spread seed that they had eaten along the trails in their journey westward, introducing new plant species to the prairie.  Plains Indians, descendants of indigenous peoples who occupied the area for thousands of years, lived in and hunted along Salt Creek.  The Pawnee, which included four tribes, lived in villages along the Platte River.  The Great Sioux Nation, including the Ihanktowan-Ihanktowana and the Lakota located to the north and west, used Nebraska as a hunting and skirmish ground, although they did not have any long-term settlements in the state.  An occasional buffalo could still be seen in the plat of Lincoln in the 1860s.
caption: "The Smoke Signal" (1935), a statue dedicated to the Nebraska Indian, by Ellis Luis Burman in Pioneers Park
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