December 2022 • Nebraskaland 39
it worked.
To the west, the shallow Platte was
crossed only by fording until bridges
were built. Along the Missouri, ferries
for wagons and, later, automobiles,
remained in use long after railroad
bridges spanned the river. For
example, for many years, there was
no convenient way for southwestern
Iowa farmers to reach the South
Omaha stockyards with truckloads of
livestock. The Douglas Street Bridge
was the nearest crossing. Diesel or
gasoline-powered ferryboats, such
as the one shown above, provided
transport.
Despite demand, ferry businesses
struggled to survive in Bellevue.
Blame the ever-shifting channel and
banks of the Missouri River. A well-
prepared landing could be rendered
unapproachable by shifting sandbars,
and building a new landing also meant
building a new road. The completion
of the South Omaha Bridge in 1936
fi nally rendered the Bellevue ferry
obsolete — a story similar to other
ferries shown here.
N
Visit History Nebraska's website at
history.nebraska.gov.
Bellevue ferry landing, June 14, 1924. HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG3097-8-1
Automobiles crowd the deck of the City of Springfi eld between Springfi eld, SD, and Santee, NE, circa 1915.
HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG2865-2-1
