Blair, Nebraska
Encyclopedia
Blair is a city in and the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Washington County
Washington County, Nebraska
-National protected areas:*Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge*DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,780 people, 6,940 households, and 5,149 families residing in the county. The population density was 48 people per square mile . There were 7,408...

, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 7,990 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area
Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area
The Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area is a metropolitan area comprising the cities of Omaha, Nebraska, Council Bluffs, Iowa, and surrounding areas. The Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area has a population of 865,350 . The metropolitan area, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget,...

.

History

Blair, county seat and largest city in Washington County, was not one of its earliest towns. It was established when the Sioux City and Pacific Rail Road
Sioux City and Pacific Rail Road
The Sioux City and Pacific Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. states of Iowa and Nebraska. Built as a connection from Sioux City to the Union Pacific Railroad at Fremont, it became part of the Chicago and North Western Railway system in the 1880s, and is now a main line of the Union Pacific...

 chose to cross the river at that location, going from Missouri Valley, Iowa
Missouri Valley, Iowa
Missouri Valley is a city in Harrison County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,992 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Missouri Valley's longitude and latitude coordinatesin decimal form are 41.558912, -95.893926...

, and up along "Carter Hollow" on the Nebraska side. Whether by chance or design, the route missed the existing river towns of DeSoto and Cuming City. An entirely new town was needed.

A 1075 acres (4.4 km²) tract of land was purchased and platted, with lots to be sold at auction on May 10, 1869. The entire tract was purchased by John I. Blair, an official of the railroad, who announced his plans for the city, which he named for himself.

Front street quickly took shape. Many businesses and several churches were hauled overland from the former town sites to supplement those being built. In a short time there were hardware, implement, and dry goods stores, a hotel, a bank, and a newspaper. A town board was formed in August.

Before the end of the year, the town called for an election to relocate the county seat, which at that time was in Fort Calhoun. Blair won, and a brick courthouse was erected at 19th and Grant.

Construction was also progressing on the rail line. Before a railroad bridge was built across the Missouri, freight cars were pushed onto barges on one side of the river, then pulled off on the other. Since the engines did not cross the river, a roundhouse to service them was built north of town. When the bridge was completed in 1882, that facility was dismantled and servicing was done in Iowa.

Local brickyards turned out 1,500,000 bricks per year to meet the demands of the city's rapid development. In 1884 the community, predominantly Danish, raised $3,000 in matching funds and appropriated several acres of land on which to establish a "folk school." The forerunner of Dana College, Trinity Seminary was housed in a home until the impressive, four-story main building was dedicated in 1886.

By then a city water system was in place, and South Creek, dug out by men with hand shovels, had been straightened to improve the drainage on south side of town. A public high school was constructed before the turn of the century.

Industries that sprang up along the railroad include: a mill which produced Maintop flour and livestock feeds; a foundry manufacturing roller bearings; a laboratory which made patent medicines; a poultry incubator plant employing about 40 men; and a horse collar company which employed up to 125 men, until "horses left the drawbar scene."

A plant, built in 1889 to provide electricity for lights, was not dependable or profitable. In 1914 a new municipal power plant was built and later a city ice plant was added to supply Blair with "safe ice," replacing the system of cutting it from the river.

Over the years, other enterprises came and went: a plant manufacturing spark plugs used in Model T Fords; a canning company; a seed corn plant; and a church-publishing house. Currently, Kelly Ryan Equipment Company, established in the mid-1940s, employs up to 50 persons. The D.L.Blair Company, specializing in nation-wide promotion campaigns, was established in the 1970s. Mid America Computer Corp. was also established in the 1970s and employs 200+ employees and serves over 300 clients in the telecommunications industry.

The "Bee-Line" Highway, started in 1923, got little use until a bridge was built across the Missouri at Blair in 1929. Later designated as Highway 30, paving was completed as a Federal Works project in the 1930s. Highways U.S.75 and State 91 and 133 were completed later.

Geography

Blair is located at 41°32′44"N 96°8′4"W (41.545562, -96.134383).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.2 km²), of which, 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.43%) is water.

Blair has its own hospital, the Memorial Community Hospital, and being the county seat, also has a courthouse located in town.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 7,512 people, 2,871 households, and 1,891 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,617.3 people per square mile (625.1/km²). There were 3,033 housing units at an average density of 653.0 per square mile (252.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.43% White, 0.44% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.27% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.34% of the population.

There were 2,871 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 13.8% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,214, and the median income for a family was $52,114. Males had a median income of $36,839 versus $25,452 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $19,240. About 6.2% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

  • Part of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
    Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
    The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum is an arboretum and botanical garden composed of 44 arboretums, parks, and other public landscapes in 33 communities across Nebraska, and supported by the arboretum office at the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln, Nebraska...

     collection
  • Blair was home to the now defunct Dana College
    Dana College
    Dana College is a now defunct baccalaureate college located in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre campus is approximately 25 miles northwest of Omaha, and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley....

  • From 1896-1954, Blair was home to Trinity Seminary, a school of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church
    United Evangelical Lutheran Church
    The United Evangelical Lutheran Church was one of the many denominations formed when Lutherans came to the United States from Europe...

  • Blair is located along the historic Lincoln Highway
    Lincoln Highway
    The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...


Notable residents

  • Kent Bellows
    Kent Bellows
    Artist Kent Bellows is best known for his figurative works in the realist style. His artwork is sometimes referred to as “meticulous realism,” a subcategory referring to the artist’s startling attention to detail....

     - artist
  • Bill Dannenhauser
    Bill Dannenhauser
    Bill Dannenhauer is a retired American professional wrestler better known as Dave Sullivan or The Equalizer.-Career:Bill Danenhauer started out in college football as the Offensive Coordinator at Washburn University...

     - professional wrestler
  • Mike Ekeler
    Mike Ekeler
    Mike Ekeler is a Co-Defensive Coordinator and the Linebackers Coach for the Indiana University Bloomington football team...

     - Nebraska football coach
  • Mike Hollingshead
    Mike Hollingshead
    Mike Hollingshead is an American professional storm chaser and photographer from Blair, Nebraska, United States. In 2008 Hollingshead released his first book titled Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers with co-author Eric Nguyen....

     - photographer
  • Mick Mines
    Mick Mines
    Mick Mines was a Nebraska state senator from Blair, Nebraska in the Nebraska Legislature from 2003 until his resignation in 2007. He is currently a lobbyist.-Personal life:...

     - Nebraska state senator
  • Tom Seaton
    Tom Seaton
    Thomas Gordon Seaton was born on August 30, 1887, in Blair, Nebraska. In , he was signed as a pitcher by the Portland, Oregon baseball team in the Pacific Coast League. In he was part of a pitching staff that included Gene Krapp, Jack Graney, Bill Steen and Vean Gregg...

     - baseball star
  • Paul Simon
    Paul Simon (politician)
    Paul Martin Simon was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party...

     - Democratic Congressman, Senator, and presidential candidate
  • Rod Whitaker
    Trevanian
    Rodney William Whitaker was an American film scholar and writer who wrote several successful novels under the pen name Trevanian. Whitaker also published works as Nicholas Seare, Beñat Le Cagot and Edoard Moran...

     - novelist

Trivia

  • This is one of two cities that have been the contact point for many consumer products contests, the other being Young America, Minnesota
    Norwood Young America, Minnesota
    As of the census of 2000, there were 3,108 people, 1,171 households, and 833 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,855.8 people per square mile . There were 1,201 housing units at an average density of 717.1 per square mile...

    .
  • Blair served as the headquarters of 2 Lutheran denominations - the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church Association in America from 1884–1896; and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church
    United Evangelical Lutheran Church
    The United Evangelical Lutheran Church was one of the many denominations formed when Lutherans came to the United States from Europe...

    from 1896-1960. Both denominations were informally known as "The Blair Church."

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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