From the archives: Omaha's Trans-Mississippi Exposition closes its five-month run on Nov. 1, 1898
The 1898 fair showcased the West and its recovery from the Panic of 1893, according to Omaha Public Library's archives.
OMAHA - Omaha's Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, a five-month showcase of the American West, wrapped up its run on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 1898, according to Omaha Public Library's digital archives.
The library says business and community leaders from the 24 states and territories west of the Mississippi River dreamed up the fair, held alongside an Indian Congress from June 1 that year, to lift the region's economy and prove the West had bounced back from the Panic of 1893.
The library owns about 3,000 original official photographs of the exposition taken by Frank Rinehart. Its online collection also includes a scan of the fair's official catalog, which describes the exhibits building by building and closes with an index of exhibitors.
Source: Omaha Public Library Digital Archives, Official Catalogue of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition and Trans-Mississippi & International Exposition collection, opened Oct. 31, 2026.