Walnut Hill (Omaha)

Walnut Hill is a historic neighborhood located in north Omaha, Nebraska. It is bounded by North 40th Street on the east, Cuming Street on the south, Northwest Radial Highway and Saddle Creek Road on the west and Hamilton Street on the north.

History

Dr. Samuel Mercer constructed a large, private residence at 40th and Cuming Streets and platted the Walnut Hill subdivision northwest of his home in the 1880s. Previously, Mercer financed the construction of cable-line streetcars in Omaha, and by the end of the 1880s, his line extended as far west as North 36th and Cuming Streets.[1]

Walnut Hill Elementary School was first constructed in 1888, rebuilt in 1927 and again in 1994. It is one of Omaha's oldest schools.[2] The neighborhood suffered minor damage in the catastrophic Easter Sunday Tornado of 1913.[3]

After the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898 many of the large streetcars employed to carry throngs of passengers were removed from service by the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company. In the face of increasingly uncomfortable crowding on the small cars, a large demonstration by a group of residents from the Walnut Hill suburb during which they took over several streetcars in the city to protest the poor condition of public transportation in their neighborhood.[4]

Notable historic properties
Historic properties in the West Farnam neighborhood in alphabetical order
Name Address Built Notes
Dr. Samuel D. Mercer House 3920 Cuming Street 1885 Queen Anne style
Walnut Hill Pumping Station 40th and Nicolas 1882
Walnut Hill Elementary School 4355 Charles Street 1926 [5]

See also

References
  1. Mead & Hunt. (2002) Reconnaissance Survey of Selected Neighborhoods in Central Omaha, Nebraska: Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey[Usurped!]. City of Omaha. Retrieved 6/25/07. p. 2.
  2. (2004) Walnut Hill Elementary School. Omaha Public Schools 2004-2005 Report to the Community. Omaha Public Schools. Retrieved 6/25/07.
  3. (1913) Ch. 22: In the storm's path. Story of the Great Flood and Cyclone. Disasters.. Retrieved 6/25/07.
  4. "Against crowding cars: Members of an Omaha Association Take a Firm Stand", The New York Times. November 19, 1898. Retrieved 4/21/08.
  5. "Walnut Hill Elementary School History", Omaha Public Schools. Retrieved 4/27/11.

41°16′12″N 95°58′41″W

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