BELLEVUE HISTORY
1856
1948
Built in 1856, First Presbyterian Church, 2002 Franklin St., is the oldest church in Nebraska. The church was regularly used for 100 years. It featured beautiful stained-glass windows, locally crafted oak pews and an elevated pulpit.
Fort Crook was redesignated Offutt Air Force Base after local fallen World War I pilot Jarvis Offutt. It took on new challenges, contesting Cold War threats and serving as headquarters of Strategic Air Command from 1948 to 1992.
1896 Mid-1830s The log cabin, now located at 1805 Hancock St., is one of the oldest buildings in the state. The structure was home to a Native American chief, an early Sarpy County judge, and a Civil War veteran. The log cabin is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.
Bellevue had struggled to survive as a community, but the commissioning of a new army installation on the outskirts of the village marked the start of a special relationship Bellevue maintains with the military. Named after veteran Civil War Gen. George Crook, Fort Crook would play an important role in a number of conflicts including the Spanish American War and World War I.
If your water comes from Metropolitan Utilities District, you’ll be happy to know all the ways we work to deliver safe and reliable drinking water. That’s saying a lot when you consider we serve an average of 90 million gallons of water a day and maintain 27,000 hydrants for fire protection. See the stats, facts and figures behind what we do in the Water Quality Report on our website:
14 • BELLEVUE FIRST 2022 • www.BellevueNebraska.com
1950 The Bellevue Bridge, (later dedicated as the Grand Army of the Republic Bridge) opens. Built at a cost of 2.8 million dollars, the toll bridge over the Missouri River directly connected Bellevue to Iowa and was a sign of post war progress.
