NRHP: Sidney Historic Business District
Contents
Sidney Historic Business District
NRHP Reference #: 94001233
NRHP Listing Date: 19941021
Location
bounded by Hickory & King and 9th & 11th, Sidney, Cheyenne County, Nebraska
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Summary
Founded by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1867, Sidney experienced a period of economic prosperity in the late nineteenth century that was unrivaled in the western Nebraska panhandle. The prosperity resulted from a combination of factors that were unique to the region. While many towns in the panhandle benefited from the presence of the Union Pacific Railroad, Sidney was also the home of an important military post, Fort Sidney, a railhead for the shipment of Texas cattle, and most significantly, the primary distribution point for overland freighting to the gold mines in the Black Hills. These influences resulted in the development of Sidney as a center of regional commercial activity. Merchants who founded businesses in Sidney during the 1870s and 1880s were directly responsible for the construction of buildings extant in the district today. While most of their original wood frame buildings are non-extant, the merchants used the profits reaped during this time to construct more permanent (masonry) buildings, often on the same site. The strong association to the tremendous prosperity of the late nineteenth century continued through the early decades of the twentieth century.
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About the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the country’s official list of historically significant properties. To be eligible for the NRHP a property must generally retain their historic appearance, be at least 50 years old, and have the potential to be documented as historically or architecturally significant at either the local, state, or national level. The National Register of Historic Places is a National Park Service program administered by the Nebraska State Historical Society for the state of Nebraska. Visit the Nebraska State Historical Society's website to learn more about the program.
