At the center of the south side of the parade ground stood a two-story frame officers' quarters. On October 4, 1863, Lieutenant Eugene F. Ware, of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry noted the following about the officers quarters: "On the south side of the square, was the largest building, and on the second floor of it was a large room which seemed as if it had at one time been used as a sort of officer's club. There was a large brick fireplace, and above it, the masonry of the chimney had been plastered with a hard, smooth finish, upon this white surface on the breast of the chimney were written a large number of names." Ware noted the names of many officers whose service in the Civil War made them well known. Among these names was that of Lieutenant R.E. Lee.The annual report of the inspection of buildings in June 1864, indicates that the officers and enlisted men's quarters were in poor but repairable condition. The report states: "One two-story building fronting on the parade on the south, now occupied as officers quarters having six rooms on this floor, porches have been in bad condition but are now almost entirely new, having been repaired in June 1864 the entire building is now in good condition, and affords ample quarters for the post surgeon, one captain, and three lieutenants.

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The two story officer's quarters were built in 1860. While housing on frontier posts was not what we would consider luxury, army regulations complicated matters. The regulations stated that when an officer reported for duty at any post, he could select the quarters of any officer junior to himself for his residence. This could lead to a game of musical chairs. Military protocol at the time also dictated a distinct separation between officers and enlisted men, with the enlisted men not even permitted to speak to an officer without permission. The special status of the officers accounts for the relative luxury of the time of these quarters. They were the sites of many social gatherings, and it was there that visiting officers and dignitaries stayed while visiting. 


Fort Kearny Officer's Quarters

A walking tour of all of the buildings and markers at this historic military post.

FORT KEARNY IN THE TWENTY-THREE YEARS OF ITS EXISTENCE BECAME THE SYMBOL OF WESTWARD EXPANSION AND DEVELOPMENT. FORT KEARNY WAS THE FIRST FORT BUILT TO PROTECT TRAVELERS ON THE OREGON TRAIL. IT WAS THE HEADQUARTERS OF MILITARY AND CIVIL GOVERNMENT, AN IMPORTANT STAGE STATION, A HOME STATION OF THE PONY EXPRESS, AN OUTFITTING DEPOT FOR NUMEROUS INDIAN CAMPAIGNS, THE HOME OF THE PAWNEE SCOUTS. ITS LAST IMPORTANT FUNCTION WAS PROVIDING PROTECTION FOR THE BUILDERS OF THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD. THE GREAT HUMAN MIGRATION ON THE OVERLAND TRAILS SWELLED TO SUCH PROPORTION BY THE 1840S, THAT A CHAIN OF FORTS ALONG THE ROUTE WAS RECOMMENDED BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT. THE GOVERNMENT URGED THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TERRITORY THAT THE PLATTE RIVER AND THE OREGON TRAIL CROSSED UNDER THE NAME OF NEBRASKA TERRITORY. IN 1845, THE FIRST ACTION TAKEN TO CARRY OUT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS THE EXPEDITION OF COLONEL STEPHEN WATTS KEARNY AND THE FIRST DRAGOONS. UP THE PLATTE RIVER TO FORT LARAMIE AND ON TO SOUTH PASS. COLONEL KEARNY REPORTED 2,325 PERSONS IN 460 WAGONS WITH 1100 HEAD OF LIVESTOCK HAD PASSED OVER THE TRAIL THAT YEAR. WITHIN A SHORT TIME, TWO MILITARY POSTS WERE IN WHAT IS NOW THE STATE OF NEBRASKA AND WOULD BE NAMED FORT KEARNY. THE FIRST WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1846 ON THE MISSOURI RIVER AT THE PRESENT SITE OF NEBRASKA CITY. THE SECOND WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1848 AT THIS SITE ON THE SOUTH BANK OF THE PLATTE RIVER. THE WAR DEPARTMENT, REALIZING THAT THE MISSOURI RIVER SITE WAS NOT PROPERLY CHOSEN CONCERNING THE ROUTE TAKEN BY THE WESTERN MIGRATION, SENT LIEUTENANT DANIEL P. WOODBURY AND PARTY TO THIS AREA IN THE FALL OF 1847 TO EXPLORE FOR A MORE SUITABLE SITE. FOR SEVERAL YEARS THE SANTA FE TRAIL HAD BEEN THE MAIN ARTERY OF TRAVEL FOR TRADERS GOING TO MEXICO, AND IT WAS ONLY NATURAL THAT ANY WESTWARD MIGRATION WOULD FOLLOW AS FAR AS POSSIBLE AN ALREADY DEFINED ROAD OR TRAIL. HOME SEEKERS LURED BY FREE LAND IN OREGON TERRITORY FOLLOWED THE SANTA FE TRAIL A SHORT DISTANCE WEST OF INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI THEN TURNED NORTHWEST TO FOLLOW THE ROUTE ESTABLISHED BY THE MOUNTAIN MEN, TRAPPERS AND TRADERS YEARS BEFORE. IN THE SPRING OF 1848, TROOPS ARRIVED TO START CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW POST (WHICH WAS CALLED FORT CHILDS UNTIL GENERAL ORDER NO. 66 DIRECTED IT BE KNOWN AS FORT KEARNY). AN ADOBE STOREHOUSE WAS THE FIRST STRUCTURE ERECTED. THE LAND UPON WHICH THE POST IS LOCATED ORIGINALLY BELONGED TO THE PAWNEE, AND HAD BEEN PARTIALLY CEDED TO THE UNITED STATES IN 1833. THE PAWNEE RESERVED THEIR HUNTING RIGHTS. GOLD WAS DISCOVERED IN 1848 AT THE MILL NEAR SUTTER'S FORT, CALIFORNIA, AND BY 1849 THE GREATEST GOLD RUSH OF ALL TIME WAS UNDERWAY. HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT ESTIMATED SOME 42,000 IMMIGRANTS PASSED OVER THE PLATTE ROUTE TO CALIFORNIA IN 1849. BY JUNE 1, 1849, 4,400 WAGONS AVERAGING 4 MEN AND 10 ANIMALS TO A WAGON HAD PASSED FORT KEARNY ACCORDING TO AN ACTUAL COUNT MADE AT THE FORT. THE FORT WAS A MONITORING STATION AS FAR AS IMMIGRANTS WERE CONCERNED. THE COMMANDING OFFICER WAS AUTHORIZED BY LAW TO ISSUE OR SELL SUPPLIES FROM THE GOVERNMENT WAREHOUSE UPON REQUISITION TO SUCH PERSONS AS HE DEEMED WORTHY OF AIDE. ON OCTOBER 29, 1849, PRIVATE MARTIN, THE OLDEST OF THE FIRST DRAGOONS, WAS KILLED IN A SKIRMISH WITH NATIVE AMERICANS JUST 8 MILES WEST OF HERE. SEVERAL OTHER DRAGOONS WERE WOUNDED IN THIS BATTLE NEAR FORT KEARNY. UNREST AMONG THE SIOUX BECAME NOTICEABLE DURING THE SUMMER OF 1854. GUARDS WERE FURNISHED FOR IMMIGRANT TRAINS. WAGON TRAINS COULD NOT LEAVE THE POST UNTIL THEY WERE OF SUFFICIENT SIZE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES IF DANGER FROM ATTACK WAS IMMINENT. FORT KEARNY WAS NEVER UNDER ATTACK ALTHOUGH TROOPS FROM THE POST WERE ENGAGED IN NUMEROUS SKIRMISHES. FORT KEARNY WAS ENLARGED DURING THE 1850S. BUILDINGS WERE OF ADOBE, SOD, LOG, AND FRAME. BY 1858, RUSSELL, MAJORS AND WADELL, THE GREAT FREIGHTING FIRM, HAD MOVED THEIR OPERATION TO NEBRASKA CITY. THE COMPANY OWNED 6,250 WAGONS CAPABLE OF HAULING LOADS FROM 2 TO 3 TONS EACH. TO MOVE THIS VAST CARAVAN OF WAGONS, THE FIRM USED A DROVE OF 75,000 OXEN. THE FAMED PONY EXPRESS HAD A STATION HERE UNTIL COMPLETION OF THE MISSOURI AND WESTERN TELEGRAPH LINE WHEN THE CLATTER OF THE KEY REPLACED THE CLATTER OF HOOVES. BY 1860, THE NEBRASKA CITY-FORT KEARNY ROAD WAS THE PRINCIPAL HIGHWAY TO THE WEST. NEBRASKA CITY BECAME AN IMPORTANT RIVER TERMINAL, AND THOUSANDS OF IMMIGRANTS SOON FOUND IT TO THEIR ADVANTAGE AS MANY MILES WERE ELIMINATED FROM THE LONG ROAD WEST. THE NUMEROUS ROADS HAD THE APPEARANCE OF A GREAT FUNNEL: FUNNELING INTO FORT KEARNY: AND FROM HERE WEST LAY ONE GREAT ROADWAY UP THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE PLATTE RIVER. THE CIVIL WAR BROUGHT ABOUT THE REMOVAL OF THE REGULAR ARMY TROOPS, AND THE FORT WAS GARRISONED BY VOLUNTEER UNITS FROM IOWA AND NEBRASKA. IT WAS IN THE SUMMER OF 1864 THAT THE NATIVE AMERICANS OFFERED THEIR FIERCEST RESISTANCE TO WHITE OCCUPATION OF NEBRASKA. ON AUGUST 7, 1864, THEY LAUNCHED A CONCERTED ATTACK UPON STAGE COACHES AND IMMIGRANT TRAINS ALONG THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN STRETCHES OF THE PLATTE ROUTE. THAT DAY AND THE NEXT NATIVE AMERICANS STRUCK EVERY STATION AND RANCH BETWEEN JULESBURG AND FORT KEARNY. THE ATTACK SPREAD TO THE LITTLE BLUE AND THE REPUBLICAN. HERE THERE WAS NO TELEGRAPH TO WARN SETTLERS, AND LOSS OF LIFE WAS CONSIDERABLY GREATER. THE ENTIRE NEBRASKA FRONTIER WAS THROWN INTO A STATE OF PANIC, AND ALMOST ALL OF THE SETTLERS IN THE PLATTE AND LITTLE BLUE RIVER VALLEYS FLED EASTWARD. STAGECOACHES AND FREIGHT WAGONS CEASED OPERATIONS ALTOGETHER. THIS TELEGRAM RECEIVED AT FORT KEARNY POINTS OUT THE DESPERATION OF THE TIME. IT READS, "SEND COMPANY OF MEN AS QUICK AS GOD'CAN SEND THEM. 100 INDIANS IN SITE AND FIRING ON OX TRAIN". THE MESSAGE FROM PLUM CREEK STATION JUST 36 MILES WEST WAS TOO LATE. AN ENTIRE WAGON TRAIN WAS WIPED OUT THAT DAY. A FEW DAYS LATER AFTER CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST STOCKADE FORTIFICATION AT FORT KEARNY, A GENERAL ORDER NO. 26 DIRECTS FOR CIVILIAN AND ARMY LIVESTOCK TO BE HERDED DURING THE DAY AND THAT DURING THE NIGHT, THE ANIMALS WILL BE DRIVEN WITHIN THE STOCKADE. CONTRARY TO THE POPULAR IDEA FURTHERED BY FICTION WRITERS AND MOVIE PRODUCERS, THE AVERAGE WESTERN FORT WAS NOT SURROUNDED BY PALISADES WITH BLOCK HOUSES AT EACH CORNER. MOST OF THE FORTS WERE CLUSTERS OF RUDE HUTS, LOG, SOD, OR ADOBE, AND WERE ESTABLISHED SEMI-PERMANENTLY. IN MANY CASES, FORTIFICATIONS WERE INCIDENTAL. IN 1864, 100 PAWNEE BRAVES WERE RECRUITED AT THE PAWNEE RESERVATION TO FIGHT THEIR OLD ENEMY, THE SIOUX. THESE WARRIORS BECAME A LEGEND UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF FRANK AND LUTHER NORTH AND BUFFALO BILL CODY. COLONEL ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON WHO COMMANDED THE FIRST NEBRASKA REGIMENT IN THE CIVIL WAS WAS REQUESTED BY TERRITORIAL GOVERNOR SAUNDERS TO ESTABLISH CONTROL OVER THE TRAIL FROM THE MISSOURI TO JULESBURG. COLONEL LIVINGSTON WITH HEADQUARTERS AT FORT KEARNY DIRECTED THE CONSTRUCTION OF A LINE OF SMALL MILITARY POSTS ACROSS NEBRASKA TO COLORADO, AND AS A MILITARY TACTIC, HE SET FIRE TO THE PRAIRIE FROM COLORADO TO 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FORT KEARNY, THUS RENDERING THE PLAINS UNTENABLE TO THE NATIVE AMERICANS. TROOP BUILDUP AT THIS TIME INCLUDED A COLORFUL CONTINGENT. FORMER PRISONERS OF WAR, CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS AND DESERTERS; THESE MEN WERE KNOWN AS THE "GALVANIZED" OR WHITE-WASHED YANKEES. WITH THE CIVIL WAR OVER, OTHER TROOPS POURED ONTO THE WESTERN PLAINS, AND THE INDIAN WARS SHIFTED FURTHER WEST AND NORTH. ACTIVITY AT FORT KEARNY LESSENED.  IN 1866, THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD PUSHED UP THE PLATTE VALLEY, AND WITH THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD, THE COUNTRY BECAME SETTLED, AND THE NEED FOR THE FORT WAS GONE. IN 1871, IT WAS DISCONTINUED AS A MILITARY POST. THE STORES AND SUPPLIES WERE TRANSFERRED TO FORT MCPHERSON, SOME 80 MILES WEST, AND SOON THE BUILDINGS WERE TORN DOWN. THE MATERIALS MOVED TO NORTH PLATTE BARRACKS AND FORT SIDNEY. THE LAND WAS LATER OPENED TO HOMESTEADING AND CAME INTO THE POSSESSION OF MR. WILLIAM O. DUNGAN. THE ORIGINAL RESERVATION WAS A 10 MILE SQUARE AREA. FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS THE SITE WAS A MEETING PLACE ON HOLIDAYS FOR MOST OF THE CIVIL WAR VETERANS WHO HAD SETTLED IN THE VICINITY. THE AFFECTION FOR THE OLD POST BY MR. DUNGAN CAUSED HIM TO PREVENT EXTENSIVE CULTIVATION WHICH WOULD HAVE DESTROYED THE REMAINING FEATURES OF THE FORT. 40 ACRES OF LAND WERE PURCHASED BY THE FORT KEARNY MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION IN 1928 AND 1929 WITH MONEY RAISED BY THE SALE OF CERTIFICATES. TITLE TO THE TRACT WAS TENDERED TO THE STATE OF NEBRASKA IN MARCH, 1929 AND LATER THAT YEAR GOVERNOR ARTHUR J. WEAVERS VISITED THE PARK AND ACCEPTED IT AS A STATE HISTORICAL AND SCENIC PARK AND BIRD RESERVE. LACK OF FUNDS PREVENTED FURTHER DEVELOPMENT UNTIL PASSAGE OF A NEW LAW BY THE 1959 LEGISLATURE. IN 1960, THE GAME AND PARKS COMMISSION CONTRACTED WITH THE NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOR ARCHEOLOGICAL RESEARCH TO LOCATE THE IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE FORT. BUILDING SITES WERE LOCATED, THEIR SIZES AND SHAPES DETERMINED AND ARTIFACTS SALVAGED. IN 1962, A REPLICA STOCKADE WAS CONSTRUCTED AND AFTER FURTHER ARCHEOLOGY IN 1964 A REPLICA OF A SOD BLACKSMITH-CARPENTER SHOP BUILT. THIS BUILDING HOUSES TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT OF THE PERIOD. IN 1975 THE POWDER MAGAZINE WAS RECONSTRUCTED IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE GROUNDS. A WALK ON THE GROUNDS WILL GIVE YOU A LOOK BACK INTO AN IMPORTANT TIME IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY.<h1> </h1>

Welcome to Fort Kearny State Historical Park. You are visiting the site of a famous fort of the American West. In the twenty-three years of its existence, Fort Kearny became the symbol of westward expansion and development. Fort Kearny was the first fort built to protect travelers on the Oregon Trail. It was the headquarters of military and civil government, an important stage station, a home station for the Pony Express, an outfitting depot for numerous Indian campaigns, and the home of the Pawnee Scouts. Its last important function was providing protection for crews building the Union Pacific Railroad.

Fort Kearny State Historical Park

The Fort Kearny State Historical Park Visitor Center was constructed in 1968. This brick building house exhibits on the history of the fort, its uses over the years, and those who lived there. The visitor center also has displays on the Pawnee Scouts, the Pony Express, the Overland Trails, homesteaders, and the first post office in Kearney County. Many artifacts on display were discovered on the grounds of the fort during archeological digs or were donated by local residents. The small gift shop has books and souvenirs relating to US military history, the pony express, native Americans, women on the Oregon trail, sandhill cranes, and Nebraska wildlife. Visitors may view an 18-minute video about the fort and its history or an 18-minute video on spring migration and the sandhill cranes. During the sandhill crane migration, the Visitor Center doubles as an information center for bird watchers, providing maps and information on the spring migration for visitors.

The Fort Kearny State Historical Park Visitor Center was constructed in 1968.  This brick building house exhibits on the history of the fort, its uses over the years, and those who lived there. Many artifacts on display were discovered on the fort's grounds during archeological digs or were donated by local residents.  Visitors may view an 18-minute video about the fort and its history or an 18-minute video on spring migration and sandhill cranes. In March and the first part of April, during the sandhill crane and spring migration, the Interpretive Center doubles as an information center for bird and wildlife viewers.

Fort Kearny Visitor Center

The Blacksmith-carpenter shop first appears on an 1866 plan of the post although it must have been in existence at a much earlier date since such a building would have been one of the first needed at a functioning military post of the day. Measurements taken from posts discovered during archeological excavations indicate a building size of 35' by 70' corresponding approximately with the 30'6" by 72' dimensions indicated on the 1866 plan of the Fort. This building would have had a sod roof and adobe brick walls. This reconstructed building is built to specifications taken from these excavations. Locations of the Blacksmith area, carpenter area, forge and scrap piles were identified to assist in the reconstruction.Tools of the two trades and a working forge are on display inside the shop. On summer holiday weekends, volunteer Blacksmiths are invited to demonstrate their craft to visitors.

Reconstructed in 1964, the Blacksmith and carpenter shop at Fort Kearny served a vital role for the soldiers as well as the Overland Trails travelers. The Blacksmith produced and repaired all manner of metal implements used by the soldiers and travelers, worked on the wagons and shod the horses and mules. Likewise, the carpenter was responsible for lumber in use here as well as the construction and repair of the fort itself. The carpenter was often called on to build the soldiers’ footlockers, which the soldier had to obtain for himself. The Blacksmith/carpenter shop was available to all travelers on a first-come, first-serve basis to repair their wagons and make shoes for their animals. 

Fort Kearny Blacksmith and Carpenter Shop

The most intensive archeological excavations of the 1960 season and the entire 1961 field season were concentrated on the Civil War period earthwork called East Fort or Fort Mitchel. Construction for the replica stockade was completed in 1962. Originally erected during November of 1864 as one of a series of fortifications around the perimeter of the parade ground, Fort Mitchel was a temporary earthwork, typical of Civil War period field fortification, which soon fell into disuse. The Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 established Indian reservations in the territory that would become the states of Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas. The US federal government envisioned the reservation system as a method of keeping Native American tribes off of the lands that white Americans wished to settle. Many tribes resisted the imposition of the reservation system, sparking a series of bloody battles that ultimately led to the forced relocation of most Native Americans onto the reservations. In the early 1860s, the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes were suffering terrible conditions on their reservation and in 1864 began to retaliate by attacking stagecoaches and settlements along the Oregon Trail. Sometimes aided by the Sioux, the most severe attacks were along the upper Little Blue River in Nebraska, where about 100 people were killed. In response to these attacks, in August 1864, Colonel Robert R. Livingston, commanding officer of the First Nebraska Cavalry and of the sub-military district of Nebraska, used Fort Kearny as his headquarters. In the fall of that year, he ordered improvements be made to increase the strength of the post. Most significant among them was the construction of a stockade to the east of the parade grounds. Earthworks were developed three or four feet high and a stockade of split ash logs, set in the ground and extending up about seven feet, was built. East Fort or Fort Mitchel was a short distance tothe southeast of the parade ground and connected to a long rifle pit or trench which protected the south side of the parade ground. The stockade was approximately 200 feet square, with blockhouses on each corner. It was large enough to shelter an entire garrison. Fortunately, Fort Kearny was never under attack and the stockade was mostly used to corral livestock at night.

Contrary to the usual image of a fort, stockades were rare, especially in the Great Plains, where wood was hard to obtain. Without a stockade, a fort could be entered at any point; access was not controlled. Like most military posts on the Plains, Fort Kearny was a collection of buildings arranged around an open square or parade ground. Initial plans did call for a surrounding stockade fortification with blockhouses on each corner, but this defensive "fence" was never constructed. The entrance to the stockade is located on the west side of the building and displays inside the stockade depict the various units stationed at the fort. Visitors can climb to the top of the four corners for a panoramic view of the fort. 


Fort Kearny Stockade - Fort Mitchel or East Fort

At the southeast corner was the largest building at Fort Kearny in 1852, the massive adobe storehouse. The storehouse was built to accommodate the necessary quartermaster and commissary supplies. It was a low one story thick sod walled building with a nearly flat roof covered in sheet lead and a few inches of earth. Fort Kearny was used as a supply depot for many of the posts further west. According to law, the commissary was also empowered to sell provisions at government cost prices, which was about one-third of the ordinary price, to persons whose requisitions were approved by the post commander. Due to this, the storehouse at the fort always had on hand a large quantity of various supplies, as there were many people traveling the emigrant trails that either by improvidence or accident, ran out of supplies. Even though the commanders were careful about approving orders, there were large numbers of persons whose requests seemed just, so the sales were constant. The amount of supplies needed was large, to provide for any emergency that might arise at Fort Kearny or another post. By March of 1858 the adobe storehouse was falling apart and was no longer useable. Immediate construction of two new storehouses was proposed. The new quartermaster and commissary warehouses were built in 1859 and placed some distance to the north of the parade ground. Subsequent plans of the post show the barracks on the former site of the adobe storehouse.

The adobe storehouse was the first structure built at Fort Kearny and it was one of the most important original buildings. Construction began in June of 1848 under the direction of Lieutenant Daniel P. Woodbury, of the Corps of Engineers, and it was completed by December of that year. This building was located at the southeast corner of the parade ground and served as both commissary and quartermaster storehouse. It fell into serious disrepair and was replaced by new warehouse structures in 1859. Subsequent plans of the fort show the barracks on the former site of the adobe storehouse.


Fort Kearny Adobe Storehouse

During 1859, three hundred fifty men were stationed at Fort Kearny. It was necessary for most of the men to be housed in tents and this was difficult in the winter. On April 14, 1860, Colonel Charles A. May, the commanding officer, wrote to the War Department concerning the construction of additional buildings at the fort. The returns about this time show that a large force of civilian sawyers, carpenters, and teamsters were employed at the post. An annual inspection made of the fort in on June 28, 1864 describes the soldier's quarters: "One story building facing central parade on the east, is an exact duplicate of the building last named (soldier's quarters), and is occupied by the remainder of B Company's men, needs the same repairs (floors and sills) which are respectfully recommended as early as practicable." In December 1869, Acting Assistant Surgeon W.H. Bradley, drafted a report of the post. His report gave the location of various buildings and mentioned that the soldier's quarters were very well lighted but poorly ventilated. The dormitories had an air space of two hundred fifty cubic feet per man, were furnished with double bunks, and the men slept on bed sacks filled with hay.

The soldier's quarters was the heart of the fort. Most of the enlisted men stationed at the post lived in these structures. When filled with a full company of soldiers, the quarters would seem crowded with a decided lack of privacy. This building was built in the summer of 1860, after the original building, the adobe storehouse was removed. 

Fort Kearny Soldier's Quarters

The principal functions performed by the U.S. Army soldiers stationed on frontier forts like Fort Kearny were:<ul><li>guarding the frontier settlements against hostile indigenous peoples;</li><li>aiding the settlement of the West by developing and protecting the communication between the older settlements and the frontier, by exploring the West, constructing roads and defending the overland trails, water routes, and later telegraph and railroad lines;</li><li>policing the frontier until the civil governments could maintain order.</li></ul> The 1864 Post Inspection described the Soldier's quarters with the kitchen as follows:"One story building in line with the last-named building (officers quarters), (forty feet due east) contains two large squad rooms, and seargeants (sic) mess room, is sufficiently large for fifty non-com (non-commissioned) officers, and men, is now occupied by part of B Co. 7th Iowa Cavy. This building is very greatly in need of repairs the sills (or foundation timbers) being underground are completely rotten, and the floors are worn out, have put two new sills of cedar in, to save the building, until suitable materials can be procured, for farther repairs. Except floors and sills, the building is in good condition. Would respectfully recommend immediate repairing." The barracks had an associatedsoldiers kitchen in the form of a southward extending wing 50 feet long and 25 feet wide.

Quarters at frontier posts such as Fort Kearny, were never lush, especially in the beginning. The individuality of the forts was particularly evident in the building materials employed. The army authorized permanent forts to be built of stone or brick. Temporary forts–which was the designation of most forts in the Great Plains (like Fort Kearny), despite their decades-long utilization–could employ stone only if it were cheaper than alternatives. Troops built wood-framed buildings with board-and-batten or clapboarded walls.

Fort Kearny Soldier's Quarters with Kitchen

At the center of the south side of the parade ground stood a two-story frame officers' quarters. On October 4, 1863, Lieutenant Eugene F. Ware, of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry noted the following about the officers quarters: "On the south side of the square, was the largest building, and on the second floor of it was a large room which seemed as if it had at one time been used as a sort of officer's club. There was a large brick fireplace, and above it, the masonry of the chimney had been plastered with a hard, smooth finish, upon this white surface on the breast of the chimney were written a large number of names." Ware noted the names of many officers whose service in the Civil War made them well known. Among these names was that of Lieutenant R.E. Lee. The annual report of the inspection of buildings in June 1864, indicates that the officers and enlisted men's quarters were in poor but repairable condition. The report states: "One two-story building fronting on the parade on the south, now occupied as officers quarters having six rooms on this floor, porches have been in bad condition but are now almost entirely new, having been repaired in June 1864 the entire building is now in good condition, and affords ample quarters for the post surgeon, one captain, and three lieutenants.

The year 1849 saw the continued progress of Fort Kearny. Construction for the hospital began in late May, and Lt. Woodbury reported on June 2nd that the new hospital had been covered and weatherboarded and would be shingled within a day. In a report from 1852, the post-hospital was noted on the southwest corner of the parade grounds. It was described as a one-story frame building with two rooms in the attic. The 7th Iowa Cavalry became the post garrison in the fall of 1863 and after their arrival, they constructed a log and earth magazine, a new hospital, and new log laundresses quarters. The annual report of an inspection of buildings in June 1864, indicates the original hospital was now occupied as the telegraph office, sutlers residence, and in good condition. The new hospital was located directly west of the old hospital. It consisted of three ward rooms, each twenty-five by thirty feet, a dispensary and office, a kitchen, and a laundry. The building was warmed by stoves, was well lighted but poorly ventilated. The report states that the hospital is in good condition, large and commodious with ample room to treat from eighteen to seventy-four patients. Two acres of ground are enclosed with good and substantial wire fence one half of which is cultivated as a hospital garden, the remainder is covered with a variety of trees (cottonwood, elm, and cedar planted during the last spring, and forming a very pleasant resort for the convalescent sick). No additions or repairs are necessary for the coming year. The post surgeon, with help from the hospital steward, provided medical care to area settlers, as well as the soldiers. Several babies were born here. Since the post surgeon was usually the officer with the highest level of scientific training his duties included water and soil testing, noting meteorological conditions, recording the flora and fauna of the area, and monitoring the men’s living conditions.From time to time post surgeons were required to report concerns on the sanitary and health conditions at their posts. In December 1869, acting assistant surgeon W.H. Bradley noted that "everything was old and dilapidated, ill-suited for hospital use." Dr. Bradley thought that a new hospital was "much needed."

The fort hospital administered to the needs of the soldiers and their families and served in part for the benefit of the emigrants. Scurvy was prevalent in the garrison and deadly cholera came westward with the emigrants. Three years after the fort was abandoned, 198 bodies of soldiers were removed from the Fort Kearny cemetery, located about one-half mile south of the fort, and reinterred in Fort McPherson National Cemetery. A county road along the western park boundary has destroyed the site of the original hospital. The second built hospital was located directly west of the original.


Fort Kearny Hospital

In the nineteenth century, army posts throughout the Great Plains region varied widely in appearance, reflecting the lack of centralized design authority. Post commanders exercised great latitude in construction decisions, often relying on poorly trained lieutenants who designed buildings and oversaw their construction. Low levels of funding forced these officers to rely on available materials and expertise, resulting in a diverse array of architecture within forts as well as among them. Nonetheless, two aspects of fort design were consistent: the general layout of a parade ground with buildings surrounding it and the expression of the military hierarchy in the architecture of the quarters. The Fort Kearny flagstaff was originally made of cedar and was 90 feet tall. Its flag could be seen from many miles away. A portion of the lower end of the fort's flagstaff was found and donated to the Nebraska State Historical Society by Colonel William O. Dungan, once the owner of the farm on which the site of Fort Kearny is situated. This flagstaff is on display in the Fort Kearny visitor center, along with a hand-sewn flag made by residents of the Cedar Creek community in Buffalo County for the 1876 Centennial of the United States. It was unfurled for the first time on July 4, 1876, at their annual picnic to the accompaniment of a blast of Black powder. The flag measures 5.5 x 9.5 feet and has 13 stars. It was in possession for many years by Mr. J.C. Miller of Kearney. The current flag flying on the parade grounds has 29 stars in recognition of the number of states in the union when Fort Kearny began. A 24 lb Iron Garrison Howitzer cannon, Model 1844, manufactured by Cyrus Alger &amp; Co. in Boston, Massachusetts in 1847 sits in the center of the parade grounds. Sometime in the early 1830s, the Army realized the need for a smaller, lighter, more versatile cannon that would still have almost the same range as a larger cannon. Their answer to this problem was to shorten the tube (barrel) and shape the breech like a funnel. The resulting gun was called a Howitzer, a name taken from the Prussians (Germans) and pronounced, “Haubitze”, which means sling or basket. This short-range cannon was mounted on a fixed carriage. The large-diameter bore typically fired canister and because few of these remote posts had trained artillerymen assigned to them, Infantry and Cavalry personnel were cross-trained to operate the Howitzer. This earned them the colorful moniker “instant artillery” a term not meant to be flattering. This cannon and some of Fort Kearny's 12 lb Howitzers are fired by living history interpreters on the summer holiday weekends. The first memorial monument of two located on the parade grounds honors the soldiers and pioneers of Fort Kearny erected by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 759 in 1932. The second monument is "Dedicated to the Memory of our Fathers by the Department of Nebraska Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865." The settlers that surrounded the military site following its abandonment in 1871 recognized the ideal geographic location of the old fort reservation and several proposals were made for the abandoned ten square miles of the old military reservation. One of the most interesting proposals was that of Moses H Sydenham. Sydenham had been postmaster for the Fort from 1858 to 1871 and was editor of the Central Star, the post newspaper. He advocated the relocation of the national capital from Washington to Fort Kearny, listing a detailed plan for the use of the buildings left in Washington as well as a plan for the sale of the lots and land at the new site of the nation's capital. His news release, as stated in his Central Star newspaper, gave a plan that would bring about "The rapid settlement of the great garden plains lying between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains and the rapid settlement of the valleys of the mountains, and the development of our great western gold, silver, iron and coal interests."  Sydenham's sentiments reflected the booster idealism of the area residents. However, the national congress did not share in this idealism and the bill was soon killed in committee.  In December of 1876, a General Order was issued from Army Headquarters to provide for the sale of the Fort Kearny Military Reservation in the State of Nebraska. The order gave direction for the Secretary of the Interior to survey and section the land and offer it to settlers at a minimum price under the accordance of the homestead laws. In 1873, William O. Dungan, a Civil War veteran, purchased the squatters' rights and later fulfilled the obligations of the Homestead Act to acquire the land and receive the title in 1878. Dungan located his home among the old cottonwoods planted around the parade ground and used the shade of the large trees for his yard and grazing livestock.  Dungan never permitted the old earthworks east of the fort buildings to be plowed up. He also encouraged the use of the land for reunions of soldiers and settlers who kept alive the feeling of reverence many felt for the fort site. This respect for the fort's site is an example of the recognition and pride of the surrounding communities and often continued that respect and established the site as a public gathering spot. The Soldier's Free Homestead Colony organized in 1871 in nearby Gibbon, frequently chose the grounds for a picnic and camping ground for their annual reunion. In 1906 this group organized as The Fort Kearney National Park Association, with the intent of gaining recognition for this site as a national park.  In June of 1909, the first reunion of the new group met at the fort site and great plans were made for the following year's reunion.  This group met early in February of 1910 to plan for the August event and printed a brochure with biographies of the speakers, organizers, and the purpose of the Association.

Like most military posts on the Plains, Fort Kearny was a collection of buildings arranged facing an open square or parade ground. Fort Kearny's parade ground was 600' x 640'. This area was where the posting of the colors and retreat, roll call, the changing of the guard, exercises, drills, and recreation, such as baseball, were conducted. Cottonwood trees planted by soldiers lined the parade grounds during the fort's existence. The last original cottonwood tree planted by Fort Kearny soldiers fell in 1998, 150 years after the establishment of the fort. New cottonwoods were planted in 1998 by neighbors of Fort Kearny - some who were 2nd or 3rd generation relations to the original homesteaders. Trees taken from the Platte River, just like Lieutenant Daniel P. Woodbury's men did in 1848, and some cuttings from the original cottonwoods were planted. Today the flagstaff, cottonwood trees, two memorial monuments, and a 24 lb mountain howitzer cannon are located on the parade grounds at Fort Kearny. Living history demonstrations and cannon firings are conducted on the parade grounds on the summer holidays. 

Fort Kearny Parade Grounds

The commanding officers' quarters consisted of a story and a half frame building, containing six rooms, each twenty feet square, a hall, kitchen, and a large porch in front and rear. The building, though built in "old fashioned style", was comfortable. It faced the parade ground and had a garden at the sides and rear. Officers' quarters were likewise comfortable but not so large. An 1864 annual inspection report stated the following: "One building facing the central parade on the west. Occupied as Post Headquarters, in good condition with ample accommodations for the commander of the post, and family." Over Fort Kearny's 23 years, there have been 41 different commanding officers, with some only commanding the fort for less than one month, most lasting around 5 months. The area surrounding Fort Kearny is used for irrigated farming today, and the forty-acre park has been much less disturbed than the other portions of the post. Those outside the limits of the park to the north and west have been virtually obliterated. A county road along the western park boundary has destroyed the sites of the commanding officer's quarters and other buildings that lined the western side of the parade ground.

The commanding officer's quarters were in a central location on the west side of the parade ground. Even by today’s standards, the commanding officer's quarters was a large house. By 1860’s standards, it must have seemed like a mansion. Designed and constructed as the personal home of the Commanding Officer, his family, and his servants, the quarters were quite luxurious. The county road along the western park boundary has destroyed the sites of the commanding officer's quarters and other buildings that lined the western side of the parade ground but photos and drawings of the building still exist. 


Fort Kearny Commanding Officer's Quarters

Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term adjutant is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned officer rank similar to a staff sergeant or warrant officer but is not equivalent to the role or appointment of an adjutant. The annual post-inspection of 1864 described the adjutant's office: "A one-story building sixty feet north of and a line with headquarters is occupied as adjutants office, armory, saddlers shop, carpenters shop, and lumber-room, the room used as saddlers shop has never been plastered otherwise the building is in good condition."

Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term adjutant is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned officer rank similar to a staff sergeant or warrant officer but is not equivalent to the role or appointment of an adjutant. The adjutant's building at Fort Kearny also served as an armory, saddlers shop, carpenters shop, and lumber storage. 

Fort Kearny Adjutant's Office

The new quartermaster warehouse erected in 1859 was placed some distance to the north of the parade ground and can be seen on several maps of Fort Kearny. It was a frame building with weatherboarded sides. It was spacious and noted in good condition on the 1864 post-inspection report. The report read: "A one-story building sixty feet west of an on a line with the commissary storehouse, this building is twenty-five feet wide, by seventy feet long, is in good condition, but very much too small for the amount of property to be stored. Would respectfully recommend immediate repairing." This building’s storeroom was filled with military clothing, bedding, tents, field gear, tools, hay and feed for all animals from work to cavalry horses, and other materials needed for frontier military operations. Items in the warehouse were issued to soldiers and officers who needed them from the issue room on the west side of the building.  The Quartermaster Officer oversaw all the operations and was responsible for all the supplies in the department. He would be assisted by clerks, and sometimes soldiers assigned to the duty.

The Quartermaster Department was responsible for almost everything to keep the post operating except for food and ammunition. This included not only the transportation and storage of all army supplies needed by the post but also the construction and repair of all military buildings.
The new quartermaster warehouse erected in 1859 was placed some distance to the north of the parade ground and can be seen on several maps of Fort Kearny. It was a frame building with weatherboarded sides. It was spacious and noted in good condition on the 1864 post-inspection report. 



Fort Kearny Quartermaster Warehouse

The new commissary warehouse erected in 1859 was placed some distance to the north of the parade ground and can be seen on several maps of Fort Kearny. Plans indicate that the building was large; 132 feet long and 24'4" wide. A depression which can still be seen today to the west of the warehouse is believed to be the site of a deep root cellar, a hypothesis consistent with the identification of the building as the commissary storehouse. Emigrants who found their supplies inadequate could buy such commodities as grain (when available), flour, bacon, and pickled pork upon requisition from the commissary. Post gardens were inadequate to supply the vitamin-deficient diet of the garrison but buffalo meat was thought to be a source of vitamins and though professional hunters kept the garrison supplied, travelers were told to hunt their own meat. An 1864 post-inspection stated the commissary building was in good condition, and capable of holding stores for three hundred men one year. Subsistence supplies were divided into two parts: subsistence stores, consisting of rations, such as pork, flour, coffee, candles, etc., and commissary property, which was the necessary means of issuing and preserving these stores, such as stationary, scales, measures, tools, etc. In the early nineteenth century, the component parts of rations consisted of: three-fourths of a pound of pork, or one pound and one-fourth of fresh beef, or one pound and one-fourth of salt beef, or twelve ounces of hard bread, or one and one-fourth pounds cornmeal, and one gill of whiskey. For every one hundred rations, the men were provided four pounds of soap, one pound and a half of candles, two quarts salt, four quarts vinegar, and twelve quarts peas or beans. The rations remained relatively unchanged until 1861, except for the addition of ten pounds of rice or hominy, ten pounds of green coffee, or, eight pounds of roasted (or roasted and ground) coffee, or, one pound and eight ounces tea, fifteen pounds of sugar, and pepper, potatoes, and molasses. Whiskey remained a part of the men's rations during most of the nineteenth century, although attempts were made to eliminate it from the diet.

Perhaps the most important role for any frontier fort was its use for amassing and securing the supplies that kept the Army functioning, including food, ammunition, and clothing. The army's ability to supply itself made possible its permanent presence on the plains. Supplies for the post in 1869, were furnished from the assistant commissary of sustenance at Omaha, Nebraska.

The Commissary Department was in charge of all food or subsistence supplies at a military post. At each post, the storehouses used by the Assistant Commissaries of Subsistence were provided by the Quartermaster Department, and the quality of protection varied from post to post. 



Fort Kearny Commissary Warehouse

A powder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications required storage magazines. Most magazines were purely functional and tended to be in remote and secure locations. They are the successor to the earlier powder towers and powder houses. The powder magazine at Fort Kearny is an earthen structure, reconstructed in 1976. The magazine was rebuilt in 1986 due to the collapse of the first reconstruction. The magazine was first identified on an unofficial plan in 1856. It was located in the southwest corner of the parade ground but later moved to the north of the parade grounds, was conical in form, covered with several feet of earth, and in good condition. In the June 1864 annual inspection report, it was noted that in January of 1864, a good and substantial magazine was constructed of cedar timbers, and the whole structure was covered with ground to the depth of seven feet. The building was twenty feet square on the inside, and arrangements were made for its safe and proper ventilation. The flooring was not yet completed, so a large amount of ammunition was stored in the post armory. Following the Indian Wars of 1864, additional precautions were taken to protect the ammunition magazine to the north of the barracks. A cannon was mounted in front of it and a guard stationed there day and night. The location of the powder magazine is one of the most peaceful in the park. It is an excellent place to sit on one of the benches and reflect on the importance and history of Fort Kearny.

A powder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications required storage magazines. Most magazines were purely functional and tended to be in remote and secure locations. They are the successor to the earlier powder towers and powder houses. The powder magazine at Fort Kearny is an earthen structure, reconstructed in 1976. 

Fort Kearny Powder Magazine

By the end of 1859, a frame guardhouse, a two-story soldiers' barracks, and quarters for the post commander were added around the parade ground. Archeological excavations in 1960 and 1961 revealed that modern picnic trash pits had already damaged the archaeological remains and it was feared that the structural evidence might be destroyed in the near future by vandalism, so a complete excavation was completed. The building was found to be defined by a rectangular excavated floor pit and a short projecting entrance passage which connected with a gravel walkway running between the rows of stately cottonwoods lining the northern side of the parade ground. Two interesting specimens recovered from the floor of the structure are a Pond's Extract bottle bearing an 1846 patent date, and a piece of lime solidified in the form of a tub. Lime was used extensively in the military sanitation of the Fort Kearny period. Military insignia, glass, nails, and other refuse were also recovered. Evidence-based on the location of this feature suggests that it is the 1852 guardhouse, but it is difficult to reconcile the central sub-floor depression and its 8 by 15-foot dimensions with the historical map data concerning this structure. The lack of positive evidence of walls beyond the limits of the floor pit may indicate that poor preservation prevents an accurate archaeological delineation of the building. The 1864 post-inspection notes that the guardhouse is "a one-story house twenty-two feet north - and on a line with the Soldier's Quarters. Is used as a guardhouse, is in good condition, but the floor although good is not sufficiently strong, several prisoners having escaped within the last six months by cutting through the floor. Would respectfully recommend the laying of the floor of two-inch plank."

As the name implies, the guardhouse is the building that housed the guard detail. The guard detail was chosen from among the men in what was sometimes a fierce competition. While guard duty meant walking sentry duty, it also meant exemption from other fatigue details. Soldiers competing for guard detail were judged on the appearance of their dress uniform and mastery of drill. 

In addition to housing the guard, the guardhouse also served as a prison. In a report from December 1869, the guardhouse was described as containing two rooms, each twenty by twenty feet, one for the prisoners, and the other for the guard detail. It had a front porch, was well lighted and suitable for the purpose for which it was used. The Commanding Officer determined their length of sentence. The ordinance storeroom held all rifles, ammunition, and related items when they were not being used by troops in the field. 


Fort Kearny Guardhouse and Prison

The daily life of the men at Fort Kearny was similar to that at other frontier posts. At its best, it was an isolated place and brief furloughs broke the monotony of an otherwise uneventful life. Frontier post-construction work had to be done by the troops. No civilians were available, and no funds were allowed for their employment if they were. Soldiers at Fort Kearny built all of the first buildings, including the soldiers' quarters, as no civilians were employed for several years. The Missouri Volunteers, who first garrisoned Fort Kearny, had been enlisted for service in the Mexican War. Instead of being sent to the front, they were assigned to establish the new military posts on the route to Oregon. They were unhappy with these new orders and before they had left Fort Kearny on the Missouri, several had deserted. Their skills as mechanics and artisans were not highly regarded by the engineer in charge. He complained that they could not get the work done in a reasonable time. While he had four hundred and fifty men to use he did not believe he could accomplish much, since "it is particularly hard to obtain work from mounted troops....their horses require much of their time and care." Immediately upon arriving at Fort Kearny on the Platte, Lieutenant Woodbury put the men to work building adobe structures and wood frame barracks. The work of these men became less every day. They had enlisted as soldiers, not as laborers. Other means were used to encourage men to work on tasks not strictly military. The warehouse at Fort Keany held a quantity of whiskey in storage. In 1864, when Fort Cottonwood was being built, Captain Nicholas J. O'Brien sent an officer to Fort Kearny to get a supply of whiskey for rations. The officer took seven barrels of corn whiskey back to Fort Cottonwood. Builders and other workers were given a gill of whiskey in the morning and another at night, provided they didn't shirk their work. The result was that the men all seemed inspired, all wanted to work, and worked well. This tactic was also used at Fort Kearny until July 1865, when the War Department ordered the whiskey rations discontinued.

On the south and east sides of the southeast corner of the parade ground, two soldiers' barracks are shown on plans of the post as it appeared in the 1860s. These long rectangular one-story frame buildings were 70 feet long and 24 feet wide. This building was a one-story structure, containing two large squad rooms, one medium-sized and one sergeant's mess room. It was sufficiently sized to house fifty non-commissioned officers but was untenable due to having no floors or windows. 

Fort Kearny Soldiers Quarters and Warehouse #9

The life of officers at Fort Kearny and at other frontier posts was quite different than that of enlisted men. A very wide and deep divide of rank existed and separated the commissioned personnel from the non commissioned. The officers were, for the most part, married and lived with their families in the officers' quarters. Very few enlisted men were married, those who were had married after joining the service, since it was the general rule that only single men were enlisted. The officers and their families moved in their own social circles, and at Fort Kearny, with only a few officers on duty, this circle was small and select. During the Civil War, life at Fort Kearny was influenced by the officer personnel on duty. Commissions in the volunteer service were issued by the governor of the state in which the organization originated. When the regiments were mustered into Federal service, these commissions were honored without examinations into the individuals holding them. Politics were actively involved in securing these appointments. This resulted in a commissioned staff of uneven quality. Constant quarreling and bickering went on among the officers at Fort Kearny, not unlike any other post where volunteer troops were stationed. The superior officers tried to remove the undesirable officers by transfer or court-martial. Junior officers attempted to oust their superiors by political means or to bring them into discredit in any way possible. This had a negative effect on the morale of the entire post and caused constant tension. One way the soldiers blew off steam was by visiting the nearby town of Kearney City or more commonly known as Dobytown. The community was established in 1859 and was located three miles west of the fort. The town was given the common name of Dobytown because it contained mostly adobe buildings. As one of the most important stops for travelers between Independence, Missouri, and the west, Dobytown evolved to meet the needs of the thousands of soldiers, traders, teamsters, and pioneers traveling west. Gambling, liquor, and prostitution were among its main attractions. Dobytown also served as the major outfitting point west of the Missouri River, the center of frontier transportation from 1860 to 1866. A Pony Express station was located in Dobytown and it was the first county seat of Kearney County.

Around the parade ground in 1852 were six buildings. On the east side, in the middle, was a framed two-story soldiers' quarters or barracks for 100 men. The 1864 post-inspection notes the building as - "a two-story building in line with the soldiers quarters, contains three large squad rooms on the first floor, and two squad rooms and seargeants mess rooms on the second floor. The building is amply large for one hundred non-commissioned officers and men. Flooring is almost entirely worn out, and chimneys need repairing. Building is otherwise in good condition, would respectfully recommend new floors and chimneys repaired." 


Fort Kearny State Historical Park

Fort Kearny Officer's Quarters

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information