Our next neighborhood spotlight takes us south of Omaha to the city of Bellevue. According to www.bellevue.net, Bellevue has a long history dating back to 1822 when it was first settled as a fur trading post and then was later sold to the U.S. Government in 1832 to be used as the Missouri River Indian Agency. In 1850, Bellevue became a Mormon settlement and experienced a growth of population from those heading West to California. In the late 1800’s land was bought to form Fort Crook, which helped the population grow further and allowed Bellevue University to be opened in 1966. Fort Crook later turned into Offutt Air Force Base, which helped turn Bellevue into the town it is today. Offutt is well know for being the Martin bomber plant during World War II and is now home to the Strategic Air Command. Bellevue is also home to Fontenelle Forest, which features 19 miles of hiking trails overlooking the Missouri River in addition to the University of Nebraska medical Center of Bellevue off of Highway 370.