Researching the history of a building requires the whole panoply of genealogical research skills and then some!
Key resources:
- Building permits
Normally kept in the city planning department. Unfortunately for Omaha researchers, some years ago the city's chief building inspector made the decision to throw all those records out--records spanning more than 100 years, from the 1880s to the 2000s. Permits for the Dundee neighborhood were the only ones to survive.
- Water permits, opens a new window (1880-1968)
Originals held at Central Library. Water permits can often substitute for building permits as an indication of when a house was constructed since a connection to the water supply was usually arranged soon after the house was built. Online index includes date, address, and homeowner. This collection does not include all parts of the city.
- City directories (available at Central Library, Genealogy & Local History 3rd floor)
- Omaha city directories, 1866-current
- Bellevue/Sarpy County city directories (1963-89; 1991-2007; 2009-current)
- Council Bluffs city directories (1933-35; 1940; 1945-46; 1954-55; 1957-59; 1961-89; 1991-2009; 2011; 2013-current)
- Fremont city directories (1957; 1960-61; 1963-66; 1968-70; 1972-73; 1975; 1977-80; 1982-83; 1985; 1987; 1989-91; 1993)
- Lincoln city directories (1932; 1935; 1941; 1953; 1955-56; 1958-71; 1973-75; 1977-83; 1985-2004; 2007-current)
- Nebraska City directories (1926-27; 1977-78; 1980; 1986; 1988-89; 1992-94)
- County, city, and neighborhood histories and clipping files, available in Nebraska Reference Collection, Genealogy & Local History
- Historic Omaha buildings , opens a new window
- Maps and atlases
- Digital Map Collection, opens a new window
- Fire Insurance Maps Online (FIMo), opens a new window
- Newspapers
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Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Omaha World-Herald Digital Archives (1878-1983), opens a new window
- Search for an address to find sales information, building news, permit records, and more. Access from home with a library card.
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Daily Record (Nov. 11, 1931 - Dec. 31, 2021; unindexed).
- Paper of record for Douglas County: building permits and other legal notices.
- Other newspapers on microfilm, opens a new window (unindexed).
Relevant articles:
A Place in History: Researching Your Nebraska Property
, opens a new windowGuide to where and what to search when researching the history of your property, including useful links and organizations in Nebraska.
National Register of Historic Places, opens a new window Since its inception in 1966, more than 80,000 properties have been listed in the National Register. Together these records hold information on more than 1.4 million individual resources--buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects. Research in this collection, or find out how to get your property listed.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
, opens a new windowUseful links and resources for the owners of historic properties--or anyone interested in old buildings! The Top 10 Places to Find Old Photos of Your House
, opens a new windowGood ideas for finding pictures of your property from yesteryear. The author of this blog, Marian Pierre-Louis, is a house historian who specializes in the historic homes of New England. Who Lived In a House Like This?, opens a new window