Posted on a bluff in the Loess Hills just north of the city is a monument commemorating the event that gave Council Bluffs its name. Lewis and Clark Monument and Scenic Overlook Source: Joseph Sohm / shutterstock Lewis and Clark Monument and Scenic Overlook You can pore over a rich library of photographs, 19th-century weapons, railroad lanterns, plush car interiors, surveying tools and all kinds of other memorabilia.ĥ.

In an exquisite Carnegie library building from 1905, the Union Pacific Railroad Museum sheds light on more than 160 years of American history, through interactive displays and a rich collection of artifacts. The project had been approved by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 as a means of preserving the Union during the Civil War. In 1869, Council Bluffs was the eastern terminus of the first transcontinental railroad, linking the existing eastern U.S.

Union Pacific Railroad Museum Source: EQRoy / shutterstock Union Pacific Railroad Museum In the 1860s the city became the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad, and there are two museums to tell the story, while the picturesque Loess Hills can be explored on a national scenic byway. The city is named for a parley made by Lewis and Clark and Native American tribesmen, high on the Loess Hills that trace the eastern bank of the Missouri River.Ĭouncil Bluffs has long been a transport hub, as an anchor town of several 19th-century emigrant trails and the place where no fewer than eight railroads once connected.

There may not be a better place than Council Bluffs to ponder the United States’ epic westward expansion in the 19th century. Across the Missouri River from Omaha, the city of Council Bluffs is connected to its neighbor by a marvelous pedestrian bridge that opened in 2008.

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