In 1880, the Lincoln Telephone Exchange was organized. The City Water Works were begun in 1881. The city council voted to establish a full-time paid Fire Department in 1885 with one company working with volunteer fire companies. By 1886 the volunteer fire companies dispanded. In 1887, the department increased to three companies. The Fire Departments horses, which pulled the hose cart and steamer, were not replaced with gasoline engines until 1919. The first hospital, Saint Elizabeth Hospital, was founded in 1889. Saint Elizabeth Hospital would be the only general hospital in Lincoln until 1922.
