An aerial view of Omaha.

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Seal Nickname: Gateway to the West Motto: Fortiter in Re (Latin) "Courageously in every enterprise"

Location in Nebraska Coordinates: 41°15'37.74?N 96°0'46.76?W? / ?41.2604833, -96.0129889 Country United States State Nebraska County Douglas Founded 1854 Incorporated 1857 Government - Mayor Michael Fahey (D) - City Clerk Buster Brown - City Council District 1: Jim Suttle District 2: Frank Brown District 3: Jim Vokal District 4: Garry Gernandt (Council Vice-President) District 5: Dan Welch (Council President) District 6: Franklin Thompson District 7: Chuck Sigerson, Jr. Area - City 118.9 sq mi (307.9 km?) - Land 115.7 sq mi (299.7 km?) - Water 3.2 sq mi (8.2 km?) Elevation 1,090 ft (332 m) Population (2000) - City 399,762 - Density 3,370.7/sq mi (1,301.5/km?) - Urban 767,041 - Metro 822,549 Time zone CST (UTC-6) - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP codes 68022, 68101-68164 Area code(s) 402 FIPS code 31-37000GR2 GNIS feature ID 0835483GR3 Website: www.ci.omaha.ne.us Omaha is the largest city in the State of Nebraska, United States. It is the county seat of Douglas County.GR6 As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 390,007. According to the 2006 census estimate, Omaha's population rose to 427,872, which includes an extra population count of approximately 8,300 people by annexing the smaller city of Elkhorn. Located on the eastern edge of Nebraska, it is on the Missouri River, about 20 miles (30 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. Omaha is the anchor of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Council Bluffs, Iowa lies directly across the Missouri River from Omaha. The city and its suburbs formed the 60th-largest metropolitan area in the United States in 2000, with an estimated population of 822,549 (2006[1]) residing in eight counties or about 1.2 million within a 50-mile (80 km) radius. The city grew up on the Missouri Riverfront, with the first settlement extending from the Lone Tree Ferry crossing from Kanesville, Iowa in the early 1850s.[2] The beginning of the city included the vigilante Omaha Claim Club, as well as the leadership of early leaders of the Nebraska Territory, of which Omaha was the capital until 1867.[3] At the turn of the century Omaha was known as a "wide-open" city, meaning that anything went, particularly under the administration of Mayor "Cowboy Jim" Dahlman and political boss Tom Dennison from the late 1900s through the 1920s.[4] After rapid increase in immigrants and the doubling of African American population between 1910 and 1920, the city's social and racial tensions erupted in the lynching of Willy Brown in 1919. Continued problems with discrimination led to the development of a strong civil rights movement. Omaha earned its nickname, the "Gateway City of the West", because of its central location as a transportation hub for the United States in the late 1800s.[5] Today Omaha has a rich cultural background, including the Joslyn Art Museum, the Durham Western Heritage Museum, the Holland Performing Arts Center, and the Omaha Community Playhouse. The city boasts headquarters for such companies as Berkshire Hathaway, Union Pacific, and Conagra, and is listed as a top 10 high tech haven by Newsweek in 2001.[6] Music in Omaha has always been important to the city, with North Omaha's music scene being historically important and in modern times, the "Omaha Sound" defining an important trend across the nation.[7] The city's historical and cultural attractions have been lauded by numerous national newspapers, including the Boston Globe[8] and the New York Times.[9]