Elkhorn business district added to national historic list • Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — The traditional business district of Elkhorn is no longer just scenic but historic.

The Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office recently added the four-block Elkhorn commercial district to the National Register of Historic Places.

The district includes typical “main street” buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as auto services, a town hall, a post office, and a grain elevator, and now hosts restaurants and other retail enterprises.

Development of Elkhorn began in the mid-1860s as a stop along the Union Pacific Railroad’s segment of the transcontinental railroad. Only two of the 19 buildings in the district were built after 1931.

Elkhorn was annexed by Omaha in 2005, but the commercial district has seen a renaissance in recent years.

The recognition on the National Register of Historic Places reflects the commercial district’s contribution to local history.