Lincoln

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HISTORY

The first Volga German colonists to arrive in Lincoln came from Balzer in 1874. They were soon joined by hundreds of others. The largest of these immigrant groups came from FrankBeideckHuckBalzer, and Kukkus.

They first settled in southwest Lincoln in the flood plains of Salt Creek, a neighborhood that became known as the South Bottoms. Development of the North Bottoms neighborhood began in 1888 as immigrants sought to live nearer the roundhouse of the Burlington Northern Railroad where many were employed. By 1915, there were 6,500 people living in these two enclaves.

VOLGA GERMAN CONGREGATIONS

Ebenezer Congregational Church
Emmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Evangelical St. Johns (Congregational) Church
Faith United Church of Christ
First German Congregational Church
First-Plymouth Congregational Church
Friedens Lutheran Church
Immanuel Reformed Church
Salem Congregational Church
Zion Congregational Church

Resources

Fairview Cemetery (findagrave.com)
Lincoln Memorial Park (findagrave.com)
Wyuka Cemetery (findagrave.com)
Wyuka Cemetery (gravestones.org)

 

Sources

- Kinbacher, Kurt E. "Life in the Russian Bottoms: Community Building and Identity Transformation among Germans from Russia in Lincoln, Nebraska, 1876 to 1926." Journal of American Ethnic History 26:2 (Winter 2007): 27-57.
- Sallet, Richard. Russian-German Settlement in the United States(Fargo, ND: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1974): 43.