Nebraska Historical Marker: Nebraska Statehood Memorial
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Location
1627-1699 H St, Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska
View this marker's location 40.806820, -96.69747
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Marker Text
From 1854 to 1867 the seat of territorial and state government was in Omaha. In 1867 the State Legislature appointed a Capital Commission to select a location for the new state capitol. Commission members Governor David Butler, Auditor John Gillespie and Secretary of State Thomas P. Kennard on July 29, 1867 selected the present site. In 1869 John K. Winchell of Chicago designed masonry homes in Lincoln for each of the Commissioners. These showplaces did much to instill confidence in Lincoln's future. Of these three structures, only the Kennard House stands today. It is apparently the oldest house within the original plat of Lincoln and is one of the finest remaining Nebraska examples of Italianate domestic architecture, the leading American style from about 1855 to 1875, Nebraska's pioneer period. In 1965 the State Legislature designated the structure the "Nebraska Statehood Memorial" and assigned responsibility for the memorial to the Nebraska State Historical Society. Thus the house stands today, a symbol of the confidence early Nebraskans had in their state.
Further Information
The Kennard House and Nebraska Statehood Memorial The oldest building in the original plat of Lincoln, the Kennard House was originally inhabited by Thomas P. Kennard, Nebraska’s first secretary of state and one of the earliest Lincoln settlers. It is also home to the statehood memorial.
Thomas P. Kennard Thomas P. Kennard was born on December 13, 1828 in Ohio. He trained to be a lawyer and moved to Indiana. There he became involved in abolitionism and joined the Republican Party. In 1857, he moved to Nebraska. In 1866, Kennard was elected as Nebraska’s first secretary of state. The secretary of state was second only to the governor at that time. He was in charge of all official documents and gather supplies.
Capital Controversy In 1867, Nebraska became a state. Omaha had been the capital since 1854, when Territorial Governor Thomas Cuming selected it as the site of the capital. The location of the capital became a major point of controversy after Nebraska became a state. At the time, more people lived south of the Platte than north, but the north part of the state had more representation. Those living south of the Platte wanted to move the capital to a location south of the Platte to even up the representation. On June 14, 1867, a commission was created by the legislature to select the site of a new capital. Governor David Butler, State Auditor John Gillespie and Kennard made up this committee. They were instructed to pick a site in Seward, the southern portions of Saunders and Butler or the northern part of Lancaster County. Whatever site they chose would be renamed “Lincoln.” (Omaha Republicans passed that resolution in an attempt to dissuade Democrats in the southern part of the state from moving the capital.) After touring the area marked in the bill, the commissioners chose a town called Lancaster in Lancaster County to be the new capital on August 14, 1867. (Ashland was Gillespie’s choice, but he joined Butler and Kennard in choosing Lancaster.) At the time, Lancaster was geographically in the center of many population centers and was also located near some salt flats, which the commissioners thought could one day become economically profitable (they didn’t).
Starting the New Capital City The selection of course irked Omahans, who complained that placing the capital in a town built almost entirely from scratch was a foolish idea. A city plan was developed by Kennard and others, establishing the number-and-letter street system still present today. Plots began to sell in September. The first capitol building was constructed in 1868, and thereafter all sessions of the legislature were held in Lincoln. To counter the fears of Omahans and to encourage growth in the city, all the commissioners decided to build elaborate, grand houses in the new city, thus proving that the town could indeed be the future home of government.
Kennard’s Later Life Kennard chose not to run for reelection in 1870. Impeachment charges were brought against both of his fellow commissioners the following year. Butler was impeached, but Gillespie was not. Kennard got into business after leaving public life, mostly involving railroads. In 1876 he was elected to the state senate. In 1878 he served as a commissioner to Indian Territory to appraise land. After that, he again returned to private life, mostly focusing on a law firm he opened with his sons. He was still a major player in state politics, though he never again ran for office. Also in 1878 he helped found the Nebraska State Historical Society. In 1887, his wife died. That same year he sold his famous house and built a new one on the same block. In 1898, he was appointed the receiver of public moneys for the US Land Office in Lincoln. He held the post until 1902; it would be his last time in public office. He died in 1920, remembered as the “Father of Lincoln.”
The Kennard House Constructed in 1869, the Kennard House is the oldest structure in the original plat of Lincoln still standing. It is an example of Italianate architecture, a popular style in America during the mid-1800s. Kennard lived there until he sold it in 1887. After that, it was owned by H. T. Clarke, who in turn sold it in the 1890s. Over the next few decades, it was used alternately as a boarding house, fraternity house, sorority house and single resident house. In 1923, it was purchased by Robert Ferguson, who started to remodel it. It continued to host a variety of occupants until 1961, when the State of Nebraska purchased the northern half of the block on which the house was built. It was set to be torn down to make way for a parking lot, but, noting its historical significance, a law was passed in 1965 deeming that it be preserved. The Nebraska State Historical Society took control of the property in 1966 and from 1967-68 restored the house to resemble its original condition. In 1969 the house was put on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Nebraska Statehood Memorial Since 1968, the house has been set aside as a memorial of Nebraska achieving statehood. The house is meant to represent all Nebraska, not just a specific person or place.
Bibliography
Buecker, Thomas R. “The Father of Lincoln, Nebraska: The Life and Times of Thomas P. Kennard.” Nebraska History Summer 2014: 78-93.
Magie, John. "Nebraska Statehood Memorial," Unpublished manuscript on file: Historic Preservation Office, Nebraska State Historical Society, 1969.
“More about Nebraska statehood, the location of the capital, and the story of the commissioner’s homes.” Nebraskahistory.org.
“Nebraska Statehood Memorial.” National Register of Historic Places nomination form.
Nebraska State Historical Society, Nebraska Statehood Memorial: Thomas P. Kennard House, Educational Leaflet No.14, Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, nd.
Marker program
See the Nebraska Historical Marker Program for more information.
