April 2021 • Nebraskaland 69
A few soldiers and two or three cannon are all the evidence
one has that it is not some outlandish village."
Writing in 1852, a traveler identifi ed only as S.M.B. told the
Missouri Republican that "Fort Kearny is a sort of one-horse
aff air, stuck down in the mud on the wrong side of the river,
and a long distance from wood and every other comfort, the
site of which must have been selected by some person who
did not know what he was doing."
The army added new buildings over the years. In 1859,
gold miner John T. Gibson described the fort as "quite a
respectable little place. Got dinner at 75 cents a head and
enjoyed the good things of mine host amasingly [sic], but felt
it somewhat odd sitting at a table, instead of squatting on the
ground, as we have been so long accustomed to do."
Fort Kearny also served as a station for freight wagons and
stagecoaches, and as a post offi ce and Pony Express station.
Never under attack, it served as an outfi tting depot for
several military campaigns against Native American tribes.
The fort closed in 1871; it has been a state historical park
since 1959.
N
of One-Horse Affair'
HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG2102-1-8
