After coming across this piece of history, we had to know more. So, here’s what we found on Omaha’s Cowboy Mayor.

Born in Texas and raised as a cowhand, Dahlman fled to Nebraska after winning a quick-draw shootout against his brother-in-law at the age of 20. He made a name for himself while working as a ranch hand in the Sandhills, where he met and married his wife Hattie in 1884. Soon after, he began his political career as sheriff of Dawes County, then mayor of Chadron, Democratic State Chairman, and eventually mayor of Omaha.

Widely known as “the wettest mayor in America,” Dahlman was known to be corrupt and lenient on crime, but he was also commended for leading Omaha to become a “strong” city, annexing surrounding communities like South Omaha and becoming increasingly independent from the Nebraska legislature.

Dahlman’s lenience on the city’s vices drew opposition, and his stance against prohibition eventually led him to lose the 1918 election to reformist Edward P. Smith. After losing the election, he served as a United States Marshall until his re-election in 1921. Despite Smith’s campaign promise to rid Omaha of its vices, the city went through a particularly troubled period during his term as mayor, much of which was instigated by crime bosses who rose to power during Dahlman’s initial tenure. It is rumored that in an attempt to return Dahlman to office, these crime bosses stoked tensions in the city, prompting the Omaha Race Riot of 1919. The instability caused by the riot destroyed the political career of Smith and allowed for Dahlman’s reelection to the mayor’s office, where he served until his death in 1930.

Dahlman’s life was full of incredibly consequential moments, not just for himself but for the city of Omaha and the state of Nebraska. During his early days in the Sandhills, he was part of an expedition into what was then considered a barren, unforgivable landscape, where his team of cowboys discovered that cattle could in fact survive on the land, opening a new swath of land to agricultural use. During his first stint in Omaha’s mayoral office, Dahlman shared a famous exchange with President Taft in which they teased each other on account of their weight. Between his mayoral terms, Omaha’s Race Riot of 1919 left the city under federal control, serving as one of the lowest moments in the city’s history.

What we found on Cowboy Jim was even more complex than what we anticipated after stumbling across his portrait outside of the mayor’s office. A controversial character in our state’s history, entangled with crime and vice, Dahlman was largely responsible for shaping Omaha’s path with his quarter-century tenure as Omaha’s Cowboy Mayor.

Sources

Douglas County Historical Society

Nebraska State Historical Society

Nebraska Life