Upstream Metropolis

by Larsen, Lawrence H.

• ISBN13: 9780803280021
• ISBN10: 0803280025
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-06-01
• Publisher: Bison Books

Summary

From its birth as interdependent towns on the Missouri River frontier to its emergence as a metropolis straddling two states, OmahaCouncil Bluffs has been one of the great urban construction projects in the nation's history.Upstream Metropolisprovides the first comprehensive history of this unique urban region that ranks 60th among the 370 major metropolitan areas in the United States. Drawing on local newspapers and historical archives, the authors deliver an anecdote-rich account of how and why a large metropolitan area developed in this spot. They also explain why it grew so bigand no biggerbut could never have remained two small towns. Upstream Metropolisis an urban biography of the highest order, tracing the lives of two cities, which though divided by a river, the problems of a state line, and inevitable rivalry, have always been inextricably linked. This discussion moves from the freewheeling frontier days to the times of farming and railroads, examining influences such as the populist movement, the meatpacking industry, immigration, and ethnicity. The highly readable result is a pioneering contribution to the history of urbanization in America.

Author Biography

Lawrence H. Larsen is professor emeritus of history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  Barbara J. Cottrell is an archivist with the National Archives-Central Plains Region. She and Larsen authored The Gate City: A History of Omaha (Nebraska 1997). Harl A. Dalstrom, professor emeritus of history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, contributed to The Gate City. Kay Calamé Dalstrom, retired from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Department of Foreign Languages, has collaborated with Harl Dalstrom on articles about Plains history.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. viii
Preface	p. ix
The Beginning to 1854
The Council Bluffs	p. 3
1854-1870
The Lone Tree Ferry and the Founding of Omaha	p. 42
Goddess and Harlot	p. 72
1870-1900
From Small Town to Gateway City	p. 98
Growing Pains and Public Improvements	p. 133
1900-1930
The Country's Center	p. 172
Urban Crosscurrents	p. 201
1930-1960
Into the Great Depression	p. 240
Riding Out the Storm	p. 273
Since 1960
Redirections	p. 314
Troubled Times, Quieter Times	p. 352
Reviving Council Bluffs	p. 379
Groundbreaking Changes	p. 399
For Further Reading	p. 437
Index	p. 481
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.