Ft.
Kearny was the first military post built to protect the
Oregon Trail emigrants. The fort remained an important wayside
throughout the emigration period. Many pioneers purchased
food at the fort, and nearly everyone took advantage of
the fort's reliable mail service. In late May as many as
2,000 emigrants and 10,000 oxen might pass through in a
single day.
Ft.
Kearny was not the walled fortification that many pioneers
expected. It was instead a collection of ramshackle buildings,
most made of sod. The construction was so crude that snakes
often slithered through the walls and into the beds of the
soldiers stationed there. But the enlisted men were not
overly refined anyway.
Emigrant
William Kelley:
"A most unsoldierly looking lot they were: unshaven,
unshorn, with patched uniforms and a lounging gate. The
privates being more particular in their inquiries after
whiskey, for which they offered one dollar the half-pint;
but we had none to sell them even at that tempting price."
Ft.
Kearny State Historical Site
Official
site of of the state park
