Editing Lincoln, Nebraska (section)

===Founding===
[[File:Lincoln, Nebraska, USA (1868).jpg|thumb|Lincoln, 1868]]

Lincoln was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster and became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neded.org/files/research/stathand/asect4.htm |title=Counties and County Seats by License Place Prefix Numbers |date=June 8, 2010 |website=Nebraska Databook |publisher=Nebraska Department of Economic Development |access-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-date=October 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020053612/http://www.neded.org/files/research/stathand/asect4.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The village was sited on the east bank of [[Salt Creek (Platte River)|Salt Creek]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/markers/texts/county-city_building.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040702173505/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/markers/texts/county-city_building.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 2, 2004 |title=County-City Building, Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska |last=Lincoln Bar Association |date=May 1, 1970 |publisher=Nebraska State Historical Society |access-date=October 18, 2015}}</ref> The first settlers were attracted to the area due to the abundance of salt. Once [[J. Sterling Morton]] developed his salt mines in [[Kansas]], salt in the village was no longer a viable commodity.<ref name="Lincoln History UNL">{{cite web |url=http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/counties/lancaster/lincoln/ |title=Lincoln — Lancaster County |website=Virtual Nebraska |publisher=University of Nebraska-Lincoln |access-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224051/http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/counties/lancaster/lincoln/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Captain W. T. Donovan, a former [[Steamboat|steamer]] captain, and his family settled on Salt Creek in 1856. In 1859, the village settlers met to form a county. A caucus was formed and the committee, which included Donovan, selected Lancaster as the county seat. The county was named Lancaster. After the passage of the 1862 [[Homestead Acts|Homestead Act]], homesteaders began to inhabit the area. The first [[plat]] was dated August 6, 1864.<ref name="1889 chapter 11">{{cite web |url=http://www.memoriallibrary.com/NE/Lancaster/1889/Chapters/11.htm |title=1889 History of Lincoln Nebraska – Chapter 11 |website=Memorial Library |publisher=CFC Productions |access-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115224755/http://www.memoriallibrary.com/NE/Lancaster/1889/Chapters/11.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

By the end of 1868, Lancaster had a population of approximately 500.<ref name="1889 chapter 12">{{cite web |url=http://www.memoriallibrary.com/NE/Lancaster/1889/Chapters/12.htm |title=1889 History of Lincoln Nebraska – Chapter 12 |website=Memorial Library |publisher=CFC Productions |access-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115073635/http://www.memoriallibrary.com/NE/Lancaster/1889/Chapters/12.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The township of Lancaster was renamed Lincoln, with the incorporation of the city of Lincoln on April 1, 1869. In 1869, the [[University of Nebraska]] was established in Lincoln by the state with a land grant of about 130,000 acres. Construction of University Hall, the first building, began the same year.{{sfn|Hays & Cox|p=234}}