Greater America Exposition

After the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition exhibition a group of investors decided to retain some of the buildings and hold a second exhibition at Kountze Park in 1899.[2] President McKinley expressed support for the exhibition as an opportunity to show America's new possessions.[2]

The grounds were refurbished with 500 staff patching and painting buildings and replanting flower beds.[1] And the concrete walkways were replaced by red brick ones.[1]

There were agriculture,[3] apiary,[4] colonial exhibits,[5] dairy,[6] fine arts and liberal arts,[7] horticulture,[8] international,[9] manufactures,[10] and mines and mining,[11] buildings, a machinery hall,[12] a 520 by 150 feet United States pavilion,[13] and auxiliary buildings including press, fire, police and a hospital.[14]

One March 18, 1899 the government agreed to transport agents to fetch exhibits from Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines and Porto Rico.[2]

60 tubs of Hawaiian plants were destroyed when customs officials dumped the Hawaiian shipment,[2] and a second Hawaiian shipment went missing between San Francisco and Omaha.[2] After the exhibition some of the Hawaiian exhibits were sent to a forthcoming Paris exhibition.[2]

The Cuban village included over 700 snakes, a garrotte and the hangman Valentine Ruiz.[2]

The Philippines had planned to include monkeys, native birds and four water buffaloes. Six water buffaloes were shipped though only two water buffaloes arrived in Omaha.[2]

• Treaty of Paris (1898) for the Treaty that led to the new possessions which McKinley wanted to show.

• "Trans-Mississippi Exposition" by UNL and the University of Omaha has lots of images of the buildings at the fair.
• "A History of the 1899 Greater America Exposition" by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com