Boy's Town -- Omaha NE
N 41° 15.740 W 096° 07.779
14T E 740454 N 4571852
Father Flanagan's famous Boys Town, founded in 1917 on the gritty streets of downtown Omaha, moved down W Dodge Road/US 6/Lincoln Highway to Overlook Farm in 1921, and has been here ever since
Waymark Code: WMY0VH
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 03/29/2018
Views: 5
The waymark coordinates are located at famous Boy's Town "He Ain't Heavy, He's m'Brother" statue at the main entrance along W Dodge Road/US 6/Lincoln Highway at Sheehan Street, west of downtown Omaha.
Father Edward Flanagan immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1904, and was was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Omaha in 1912. After years of working with the homeless, he opened Father Flanagan's Boys Home at 25th Street and Dodge Rd/US 6/Lincoln Highway in Omaha in 1917. Father Flanagan's mission turned boys and young men from their former lives of desperation and poverty that too often landed them in prison or reform school, by giving them a stable and safe environment to live in, that emphasized education, hard work, and strong moral values.
In 1921 it was clear that he needed more room, so Father Flanagan purchased Overlook Farm, way out in the country (at the time) down the Dodge St/US 6/Lincoln Highway west of Omaha.
Boys Town has been a leader in juvenile issues ever since, and in 2018 serves girls and families at 14 sites across the United States. But it all started in Omaha, in a rented house on the Lincoln Highway in downtown Omaha.
Boys Town is open to visitors and has many things to see and do, including visiting the Boys Town Museum, the Hall of History, the Garden of the Bible, and the Father Flanagan Chapel on campus. There is no charge to visit. The Visitor Center is open to the public Monday-Friday 8-5, Saturday 9-4, Sunday 11-4.
For more on the history of Boys Town, see their website: (
visit link)
The Lincoln Highway runs through Nebraska from east to west along US 6 from the Iowa border, to W 174th street past Boys Town on the western edge of Omaha. There, the Lincoln Highway follows the old route of the US 275 west to Fremont NE, where the US 275 joins the US 30, which the Lincoln Highway follows all the way across the WY-NE border. See: (
visit link)