01Summary
The first of the Army forts built to protect travelers on the trail, founded in 1848 on the south bank of the Platte River. From here the wagons followed the Platte west across Nebraska.
02History
The Army built Fort Kearny in 1848 on the south bank of the Platte River near the head of Grand Island, near where roads from several Missouri River towns joined into one broad road. It replaced a short-lived post of the same name on the Missouri River at present-day Nebraska City, which few emigrants passed.
Travelers who expected a proud fortress found an unfenced group of adobe and sod buildings. But here they could buy supplies, repair wagons, shoe livestock, get travel advice and send letters home. By early June 1849 the officer who built the fort, Lieutenant Daniel Woodbury, had counted 4,400 wagons passing that year, nearly all of them bound for California. In 1850 a monthly U.S. mail began running between Independence and Salt Lake City, past the fort.
Soldiers from the fort patrolled the road and escorted travelers in times of trouble. In 1860 and 1861 it was also a stagecoach and Pony Express station. The Army closed it in 1871, two years after the transcontinental railroad was finished.
03Today
Fort Kearny State Historical Park covers 40 acres of the old fort, with an interpretive center and reconstructed sod and adobe buildings. The Great Platte River Road Archway, a museum built over Interstate 80, is a few miles away near Kearney.
05Stops nearby
The Oregon Trail ran about 2,170 miles from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City. The stops just before and after this one are below. You can also find Fort Kearny on the interactive map.