The growth of overland emigration to Oregon after 1842 led to the establishment of military posts across the West to protect travelers, and the first of these, Fort Kearny, was established in the spring of 1848 near the head of the Grand Island along the Platte River by Lieutenant Daniel P. Woodbury. First called Fort Childs, it was renamed Fort Kearny in 1848 in honor of General Stephen Watts Kearny. Despite lacking fortifications, it served as a way station, sentinel post, supply depot, and message center for forty-niners bound for California and for homeseekers traveling to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. By the 1860s it had become a significant stage and freighting station and the home station of the Pony Express. During the Indian Wars of 1864-1865, a small stockade was apparently built on the earth embankment still visible. Although never attacked, the post served as an outfitting depot for several Indian campaigns, and one of its final duties was protecting workers building the Union Pacific. In 1871, two years after completion of the transcontinental railroad, it was discontinued as a military post.

Photo: Rebecca Maxwell

Photo: Rebecca Maxwell

Kearney, Nebraska · USA