An assortment of
items from Rising City Community Library joins Nebraska Memories as its newest collection. The photographs and postcards in the collection highlight many aspects of Rising City’s history.

Rising City was established when the Omaha & Republican Valley Railroad was extended across Butler County in 1878, and the collection includes photographs that show the town’s
railroad roots. In this photograph, the town’s
railroad depot appears to be a site of bustling activity.
The establishment of the railroad brought increased

population to the area, and businesses grew accordingly. The business community of Rising City is well represented in this collection. Images of
local businesses, including a hotel, banks, and a meat market, provide a

view into Rising City’s business scene throughout its history. One of the most notable commercial buildings in Rising City was a prominent brick building known as the
Opera Block. This structure was built in 1892, and it was destroyed by fire in 1923. This collection includes scenes of the
destroyed building after the fire.

A group of
portraits of members of the Rising family, after whom the town is named, is another highlight of this collection.
Samuel W. Rising (seen here with his wife Polly) and his son
Albert W. Rising each gave 40 acres of their land to be used for the Rising City town site. Portraits of Samuel’s other sons,
Dennis and
Joseph, are in the collection, as well.
Take a moment and explore this collection to get a glimpse into Rising City history, and be sure to visit
Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.
Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see
http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information, or contact
Beth Goble, Historical Services Librarian, or
Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.
I love the history of this town. My Grandmother Arbell (Hiatt) Gregory was born there in 1897. She worked in a millenary shop when she was 16. Do you have any information on any ladies clothing, hat store in the early 1980’s? I have an old porcelain doll that they used for a mannequin displaying little girls dresses/hats.
The items highlighted in this post are owned by the Rising City Library and they provided us with the historical information. I would suggest contacting the library to see if they can help you. Contact information for the library can be found on their website: https://libraries.ne.gov/risingcity/