68 Nebraskaland • April 2021
ort Kearny was an important stop along the Platte
River Road, the route shared by the Oregon, California
and Mormon trails. The army established the post in
1848 south of present-day Kearney. Originally known as
Fort Childs, it soon was renamed in honor of Stephen Watts
Kearny, a U.S. general in the Mexican-American War.
During the 1849 gold rush, the fort was still an unfi nished
collection of
sod buildings. The sketch below is among the
earliest images.
Travelers diff ered in their opinions of the place. Some did
not think it looked like a fort at
all.
"It is on low land some half
mile fr
om the river," wrote John
Edwin Banks in 1849. "It consists
of about 20 houses made of sod,
some roofed with the same
material, walls 2 feet thick. They
must be very warm. There is
neither blockhouse or palisade.
Fort Kearny as 'A Sort
By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska
F
Stephen Watts Kearny
