Kearney

History

In the late 1840s, American settlers traveling westward arrived in significant numbers along the Mormon Trail and Overland Trails. This marked the beginning of Kearney's role as a crossroads on major east-west transportation arteries. In 1848, to safeguard westward migrants traveling through the region, the US Army established a military fort several miles southeast of the present city. Named after famed frontier military officer Stephen W. Kearny, Fort Kearny would become the namesake of the present city and serve as a stopping-point for gold prospectors, Pony Express riders, and Union Pacific Railroad workers until 1871. The first permanent settlement in the area was called Dobytown, located southeast of the present-day Kearney. The "e" in Kearney was added by mistake sometime afterwards by postmen who consistently misspelled the town name; eventually the spelling became nomenclature. The region expanded in 1866 with the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad. The fixing of a junction point with the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in 1871 anticipated the establishment of a townsite in the summer of that year. The city of Kearney was incorporated on December 3, 1873, the townsite being fixed a mile north of the Platte River. In 1874, Kearney was chosen as the seat of Buffalo County, experiencing population growth, economic investment, and infrastructure expansion in subsequent years that transformed the nascent city into a regional economic and cultural center. This boom would be sustained through the next twenty years, fueled by a post-Civil War period of frenzied economic expansion and wealth generation (Gilded Age) that was transforming the whole nation. Enterprising investors poured into the burgeoning community from the East and elsewhere, hoping to…

Geography

Kearney is located on I-80 with access to the major markets of Omaha-Lincoln, Denver, Kansas City, Des Moines, Wichita and Cheyenne, Kearney is at the center of a seven-state region and 20 million people. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• KEARNEY HIGH SCHOOL
  High · KEARNEY · 1,629 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• HORIZON MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · KEARNEY · 619 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• SUNRISE MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · KEARNEY · 577 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• KEARNEY EDUCATION CENTER
  Other · KEARNEY · 416 students · 37.8:1 ratio
• MEADOWLARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · KEARNEY · 408 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• NORTHEAST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · KEARNEY · 398 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• KENWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · KEARNEY · 381 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• BUFFALO HILLS ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · KEARNEY · 316 students · 16.6:1 ratio