Papillion's First Jail & The Sander's Store

Papillion's First Jail and The Sander's Store. . , Papillion's First Jail , Articles from The Papillion Times in the early 1880s show there was public pressure for a jail to be built in Papillion so inmates did not have to be sent to Omaha. Built in the late 1800s, Papillion's first jail was believed to be located on East Second Street, toward the center of the block and west of the alley, though the exact location has not been confirmed through historical documents. , The Sander's Store , In 1869, Albert Sander opened the Sander's Store at 147 N. Washington St. A wide variety of goods and groceries were available at the store. In fall 1910, a community drinking fountain was built in the public square located northwest of the Sander's Store. , William Dietz purchased the store in March 1939 and converted the building into Dietz's Tavern. Dietz sold the building to his daughter and son-in-law, Carl and Martha Abel, and it became Abel's Bar from 1955-1975. Earl Sorensen purchased the building in 1975, and it became Pandora Lounge until 2005. This building holds the distinction of being Papillion's oldest commercial building and retains many characteristics of the original Sander's Store. , Paving the Way for Future Growth , Washington Street was often a muddy, rut-filled dirt road during the late 1880s through the early 1900s. As the horse-drawn carriages were replaced with motorized transportation, the ruts only seemed to get deeper as the issues that resulted got worse. Despite the conditions of the road, discussions over paving Washington Street tended to be highly contested due to the significant price tag to the residents. On December 15, 1919, it was decided that Papillion would pave Washington Street from the north side to the south side of town and a block on East Second Street to account for the Sarpy County Courthouse. The paving project was completed in June 1921. It wasn't until 1962 when all the streets within Papillion's city limits were finally paved.