Welcome To Lincoln SAFeDATA

The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second most thickly settled city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. The populus was 241,167 at the 2006 census estimate.

Lincoln started out as the village of Lancaster, which was founded in 1856, and became the county seat of the newly-created Lancaster County in 1859. The capital of Nebraska Territory had been Omaha since the creation of the territory in 1854; however, most of the territory`s populus stayed south of the Platte River. After much of the territory south of the Platte considered annexation to Kansas, the legislature voted to move the capital south of the river and as far west as possible. The village of Lancaster was chosen, in part due to the salt flats and marshes. However, Omaha interests attempted to derail the move by having Lancaster renamed after the recently-assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. At the time, many of the people south of the river had been sympathetic towards the Confederate cause and it was assumed that the legislature would not pass the measure if the future capital was named after Lincoln. The ploy did not work, as Lancaster was renamed Lincoln and became the state capital upon Nebraska`s admission to the Union on March 1, 1867.

Lincoln`s economy is fairly typical of a mid-sized US city; most economic activity is derived from service industries. The state government and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are both large contributors to the local economy. Other prominent industries in Lincoln include banking, information technology, insurance, and rail and truck transport.

Three regional quickly-food restaurant chains began in Lincoln: Amigos/Kings Classic, Runza Restaurants and Valentino`s.

Lincoln is best known for the University`s football team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. In total, the University of Nebraska fields 21 men`s and women`s teams in 14 NCAA Division I sports. Other sports teams are the Lincoln Saltdogs, an US Association independent minor league baseball team; the Lincoln Stars, a USHL junior ice hockey team.

Lincoln`s primary venues for live music include: Pershing Auditorium (large tours and national acts), Knickerbockers, Box Awesome, Duffy`s Tavern, Duggan`s Pub (local/regional acts; smaller venues), and the Zoo Bar (blues). The Pla-Mor Ballroom is a staple of Lincoln`s music and dance scene, featuring its house band, the award-winning Sandy Creek Band.