Early Omaha: Gateway to the West
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The large building in this image is the Union Pacific Transfer Depot and Hotel, Council Bluffs, Iowa. The UPRR Land Office is to the right. The brick Transfer Depot closed in 1926 and was destroyed in 1938.

In the foreground, a small one-man skiff can be seen. It was in this type of watercraft that two men lost their lives. Thaddeus Wren, Michael Cunningham and Nicholas Keenan were coming from one of the U.P. barns attempting to cross a break in the temporary dam. The current proved too strong and the skiff was pushed into the main channel. Michael Cunningham and Nicholas Keenan jumped from the boat and were drowned. Thaddeus Wren stayed with the boat and was rescued. Cunningham and Keenan were the only fatalities for Omaha during the April 1881 flood.