12/02/1863
At three in the afternoon, outside the city of Omaha, a large celebration was held at the ground-breaking of the Union Pacific Railroad's construction on the western side of the Missouri River. Nebraska's Territorial Governor Alvin Saunders led the dignitaries as they ceremonially wielded shovels before around a thousand people, largely from Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Festive events went on in Omaha that evening. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation:
"The Pacific Railroad," New York Times, December 3, 1863, p. 1.