The U.S. state capital named Lincoln when Nebraska became a state in 1867 is Lincoln.
The city was originally called Lancaster, but it was renamed Lincoln in honor of Abraham Lincoln shortly after his assassination. Nebraska’s territorial legislature selected the site as the capital in 1867, the same year Nebraska joined the United States.
Lincoln’s choice as capital was politically controversial because Omaha, on the Missouri River, was the territory’s largest and most established city. Moving the capital westward helped encourage settlement and development in the interior of Nebraska.
Lincoln is Nebraska’s second-largest city after Omaha, but it is the state’s center of government and the home of the University of Nebraska’s flagship campus. The city should not be confused with Lincoln, Illinois, or other U.S. places named for the president.