30 Nebraskaland • October 2024
ore than 2.6 million people
attended the Trans-
Mississippi and International
Exposition. Open from June
through October 1898, it was the
largest public event ever staged in
Omaha.
Inspired by Chicago's 1893
Columbian Exposition, the event
was a huge fi nancial gamble.
Planning began a few years
earlier during a severe economic
depression, prolonged drought and
crop failures. Omaha businessmen
prepared to risk large sums of money
to lure tourists to a city in which
some 5,000 houses stood empty.
Fortunately the economy
recovered by the time the gates
opened. Covering 184 acres, the
Exposition grounds featured a
Grand Court of white classical-
style buildings housing displays of
technology, commerce, agriculture
and the arts.
The Grand Court was built around
a man-made lagoon nearly half a
mile in length, its waters adorned
More than 2.6 million people visited
the Exposition during its fi ve-month
run. NSHS RG2752AM
Nebraska's
1898 World's Fair
M
By David L. Bristow
Nebraska State Historical Society
