Fort Kearny facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Fort Kearney
|
|
Restored Fort Kearny State Park
|
|
 Location in Nebraska
Location in the United States
|
|
| Nearest city | Newark, Nebraska |
|---|---|
| Area | 80 acres (32 ha) |
| Built | 1848 |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000485 |
| Added to NRHP | July 2, 1971 |
Fort Kearny was an important outpost of the United States Army. It was built in 1848 in the western U.S. and was used for many years. The fort was named after Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny, who later became a general. It was located along the famous Oregon Trail near a town called Kearney, Nebraska. The town of Kearney actually got its name from the fort! An interesting fact is that the "e" was added to Kearney by postmen who often misspelled the town's name. Today, part of the original fort area is kept safe as Fort Kearny State Historical Park by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
Fort Kearny became a key stop along the Great Platte River Road. This was a major route for people traveling west for about 20 years. Wagon trains moving across the country could stop here to get new supplies. It was a safe place for pioneers to rest in a new and sometimes dangerous land. Travelers could trade their tired animals for fresh ones. They could also send letters back home. The fort grew over time, with more than 30 buildings before it closed in 1871. It also served as a station for the Pony Express, the Overland Stage, and the telegraph.
Contents
Why Fort Kearny Was Built and What It Did
Protecting Pioneers on the Trails
Fort Kearny was built because more and more people were moving west to Oregon after 1845. The first small fort was set up in the spring of 1848. It was "near the head of the Grand Island" along the Platte River. Lieutenant Daniel P. Woodbury started it. It was first called Fort Chiles. But in 1848, it was renamed Fort Kearny to honor General Stephen Watts Kearny.
A Busy Stop for Travelers
Even though Fort Kearny didn't have strong walls, it was a very important place. It was a way station, a guard post, a supply center, and a message hub. Many people, including "49'ers" going to California for gold, stopped here. Families traveling to California, Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest also used it. An old photo from 1858 shows the fort as a group of adobe buildings. It had no walls or defenses.
By the 1860s, the fort was a major stop for mail and freight. It was also a main station for the Pony Express. During the Indian Wars of 1864-1865, a small wooden fence was built. This fence was on an earth mound that you can still see today. The fort was never attacked directly. But it was a place where soldiers got ready for several campaigns against Native American tribes.
Supplies and Services for Emigrants
For many years, Fort Kearny was a valuable source of supplies for pioneers. It was especially helpful in the early part of their journey. It offered food, reliable mail service, and other comforts. At the busiest time for the pioneer trails in the 1850s, as many as 2,000 pioneers and 10,000 oxen might pass through in a single day! This usually happened in late May.
One of the fort's last jobs was to protect workers building the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1871, two years after the transcontinental railroad was finished, the fort was closed as a military post. Its buildings were taken apart. The materials were moved west to build newer forts.
What Fort Kearny Looked Like
Fort Kearny was mainly a supply post. It was not built to be a strong defensive position during the Indian Wars. For most of its history, the fort had wooden buildings around a central parade ground. It did not have fortified walls. Over the years, the buildings became a bit stronger. They changed from adobe and sod structures to wooden frame buildings. Even though it was in an area where Native Americans lived, and there was fighting in the 1860s, the fort was never directly attacked.
The History of Fort Kearny
The First Fort Kearny (Wrong Location!)
The fort along the Platte River was actually the second army post named after Colonel Stephen W. Kearny. The first one was built in 1838. Colonel Kearny had looked for a good spot along the Missouri River near Nebraska City. He wanted a place to protect travelers heading west. In 1846, the War Department ordered a fort built there.
The Army built a two-story wooden blockhouse. It was called Camp Kearny, and later Fort Kearny. But the Army soon realized the spot was not good. Most pioneers did not pass through there. Instead, the main trails were further north near Omaha and further south. So, building stopped, except for some log huts for soldiers to live in during the winter of 1847–1848.
Building the Second Fort Kearny (The Important One!)
In September 1847, Kearny sent an engineer, Lt. Daniel P. Woodbury, west along the Platte River. He was looking for a better place for the fort. Woodbury chose a spot in central Nebraska. This was where the trail from Independence, Missouri joined the trail from Omaha and Council Bluffs. Woodbury wrote that the spot was "opposite a group of wooded islands in the Platte River." It was "three hundred seventeen miles from Independence, Missouri."
In December, Woodbury went to Washington, D.C. to get approval for the new fort. He asked for $15,000 to build it. He also suggested using Mormon emigrants for construction. He didn't get all he asked for. But Woodbury was allowed to build the fort from scratch using soldier labor.
The Army left the first fort in May 1848. They arrived at the new site in June. Woodbury led 175 men in building the fort. They built wooden buildings around a four-acre parade ground. They also planted cottonwood trees around the edges. Woodbury first named it "Fort Childs" after a famous soldier, Colonel Thomas Childs. But the War Department said the name "Fort Kearny" should be moved to the new fort.
The fort quickly became a vital stop on the trail. By June 1849, Woodbury noted that 4,000 wagons had already passed the fort that year. Most were going to California. The fort gathered many supplies for travelers. They were sold at a fair price. In some cases, if people were in great need, goods were given for free. In 1850, the fort got regular mail service once a month. This was when a stagecoach route started between Independence, Missouri, and Salt Lake City. It was the first regular mail service along the trail.
Fort Kearny's Location: Where Trails Met
Fort Kearny's location was chosen because it was near where several smaller trails came together. These trails formed one bigger route known as the Great Platte River Road. At this spot, pioneer groups from different starting points along the Missouri River met. Thousands of travelers passed by the fort each year. The Army had two main jobs here: to protect and help the thousands of pioneers moving west, and to protect Native American tribes from the pioneers and from other tribes. Over time, "road ranches" (small settlements) grew up nearby. Dobytown was the first settlement. It offered supplies and entertainment to both pioneers and soldiers.
Starting Points for Western Trails
- Westport near Kansas City, Missouri. Most pioneers started here.
- Fort Leavenworth
- St. Joseph, Missouri
- Nebraska City became a major freight center. This happened during the Mormon War and after gold was found in Colorado and Montana (1858-1865). Freighters used the Ox-Bow Trail. It had more grass and water, but it was longer and often muddy. In 1858, the "Steam Wagon Road" replaced it. This was a more direct route and was improved after 1862.
- Omaha, along with Florence, Nebraska, served the Mormon Pioneers from Winter Quarters.
Fort Kearny During the Indian Wars
The first years of the fort were quite peaceful. But after 1854, when the Nebraska Territory was created by the Kansas–Nebraska Act, things changed. The area around the fort became more dangerous. The Cheyenne and Sioux tribes became upset. They were angry about white settlers moving onto their lands. In the summer of 1864, this anger led to violent attacks on wagon trains. These attacks happened along the Platte and Little Blue River.
During this time, soldiers from the fort started to escort wagon trains. The fort became a safe place for people escaping attacks. Earthwork defenses were built at the fort. The Army sent the First Nebraska Cavalry and the Seventh Iowa Cavalry to the fort. By 1865, the fighting between Native Americans and white settlers had moved further west, away from the fort's area.
Later Years and When the Fort Closed
The building of the Union Pacific Railroad across Nebraska, starting in 1865, meant the fort was no longer as needed. It had been built to protect and supply wagon train pioneers. After the transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869, the U.S. Army ordered the fort to be closed on May 22, 1871.
In 1875, the buildings were torn down. The materials were moved to barracks (soldier housing) at North Platte and Sidney. The soldiers from Fort Kearny were moved to Omaha. The fort's supplies went to Fort McPherson, about 70 miles (110 km) west. In December 1876, the land was given to the United States Department of the Interior. It was then given to settlers under the Homestead Act. Within a few years, almost nothing was left of the fort. Only the cottonwood trees and the earth defenses from 1864 remained.
Fort Kearny State Historical Park Today
In 1928, a group of Nebraska citizens formed the Fort Kearny Memorial Association. They wanted to raise money to buy and restore part of the fort grounds. The group bought 40 acres (16 ha) of the original site. They then offered it to the State of Nebraska. The State Legislature approved the purchase, and it became final on March 26, 1929.
Today, part of the original site is operated as Fort Kearny State Historical Park by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The site has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Nebraska State Historical Society works with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. They do ongoing archaeological digs at the park. These digs have found and marked the foundations of all the main buildings. These include the headquarters, officers' and troops' quarters, the parade grounds, storage areas, and the livestock pen. There is a small theater that shows a 20-minute history of the fort. There is also a museum with old items found at the fort. A rebuilt blacksmith shop is also there, with old cannons and other equipment. The park has space for RV and trailer parking. The park is open during the summer months. Reenactors fire the real cannon every year during the 4th of July weekend celebrations.
In June 2010, Governor Dave Heineman signed a paper to bring back the 2nd Battalion, Nebraska Veteran Cavalry. This unit will be at the Fort on three major holidays: Memorial Day weekend, 4th of July weekend, and Labor Day weekend. This historical cavalry unit served at the fort during the Indian Wars. The unit is very accurate to history. You can hear bugle calls used by the cavalry at different times to announce what the troop is doing at the fort.
Fort Kearny in Stories and Games
- In the book Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, a train that is being hijacked by Sioux stops at Fort Kearny for help. This is a bit of a historical mix-up, as the fighting with Native Americans had mostly moved away by the time the railroad was finished.
- The fort is mentioned in the novel "Westward Hearts (Homeward on the Oregon Trail Book 1)" by Melody Carlson (2012). It is described as a stop along the Oregon Trail in 1855.
- Fort Kearny also appears in the TV western series The Loner, starring Lloyd Bridges. The show was created by Rod Serling. The fort is in an episode called "Westward the Shoemaker."
- The fort is mentioned at the start of a Wagon Train TV series episode, "The Willy Moran Story." It is the next stop for the settlers.
- The fort is also mentioned in the HBO TV series Deadwood. In episode 5 of the first season, it is the closest place to find smallpox vaccine.
- The fort is mentioned in the 2014 film The Homesman. It is where Tommy Lee Jones's character was stationed as a soldier.
- The fort is a stop in the Oregon Trail video game.
See also
In Spanish: Fort Kearny para niños
