Omaha Exploration

This particular exploration was a lot of fun and a little different than what I usually do. I only stumbled upon Gilmore Lake while researching another story. I found its location and the building on its northern end intriguing, so I jotted it down to revisit another day. I finally got that chance today.

Gilmore Lake, it seems is named after a small railroad town that was established nearby when the Union Pacific Railroad installed tracks. Formed in 1869, the town named after a railroad official centered around the intersection of 25th and Gilmore Road. The railroad built a depot in 1885 making it the first station east of Papillion.

In addition to the train depot, the area had a grain elevator and was considered an important shipping point for grain and other commodities. It also had livestock pens which allowed farmers in the area to easily transport the animals to South Omaha and get top dollar from the markets there.

The Gilmore station was even the site of a tragic accident minutes before midnight on March 11, 1903. That’s when the “Overland Limited” collided with Freight Train # 27. Six people were killed in the head-on collision.

While the railroad town was largely abandoned by 1908, people including Frank Bohac, an immigrant from Czechia, and his wife Mary continued to farm the land. The Bohac’s settled the area around 1900 where they acquired the lake and much of the land surrounding it. They continued to hand the property down to subsequent generations who remained in the area even after the train depot was removed in 1947.

With her husband James Bohac having tragically passed away in 1958, it seems that Eveyln and her son Leonard turned the one-time farm into a recreation area. To that end, they constructed the building at the northern end of the lake in 1964. That marked the beginning of Gilmore Lake Tavern.

Managed by Leonard, the tavern had an old nickelodeon and a resident German Shepherd, Krushchev, that howled whenever they played “Margie”. They also offered refreshments including sandwiches, pop and beer for those fishing on the lake. Stocked with catfish and carp, the lake was open 24 hours and didn’t require a fishing license. To attract customers, they even awarded prizes to the person that had the largest catch on Sundays. When the lake froze over it was open for ice skating.

The surrounding land was used for trap shooting, motorcycle races and mushroom hunting. Apparently, the wooded area was a treasure trove with Leonard once claiming that he found a 38-pound mushroom that stood more than 18 inches growing out of a boxelder tree. He later cooked it up and served inside the tavern. Still far off of the beaten path in the 1960s, the area was considered a landmark in Sarpy County in those days.

By 1985 as the city encroached upon the property, Evelyn sold the former Gilmore Lake Tavern. At that time, its new owner relocated his Avery Tavern from Avery Road. Described as an old rogue bar, it was largely ignored until a housing development sprung up next door. The location of the tavern required that its customers drive through the adjacent neighborhoods.

By this time, the bar had turned into a go-go joint that attracted sketchy clientele. Neighbors began to complain about the heavy traffic, speeding, accidents, noise, fights and littering. As a result, Avery Tavern was raided by deputy sheriffs in 1989. It resulted in the arrest of 14 people including five dancers. After its liquor license was revoked, Evelyn repossessed the tavern and with the help of her son, turned it back into a neighborhood bar that offered activities including fishing and the pitching of horseshoes. Management of the bar was once again turned over to Leonard. Evelyn passed away in 1991 and in 1999 the property was sold to the VFW Post 10727. 

While Leonard, the longtime manager of the bar, passed away in 2018, the Bohac family’s legacy remained in good hands. The land and lake that are likely the only remaining connection to the former railroad town are now used as a source of recreation for veterans. The lake is primarily used to fish while a portion of the land was turned into a memorial for those individuals that are still classified as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action.

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