New visitor center on the horizon at Fort Kearny

KEARNEY – More camping spaces. A new visitor center. A newly reconstructed officers’ quarters at Fort Kearny State Historical Area where guests can spend the night.

Big changes are coming to the Fort Kearny State Recreation Area and Fort Kearny State Historical Park in the next five to 10 years.

Following three years of planning and study led by Nebraska Game and Parks, a master plan was put together in January 2022. Highlighting it are a new entrance and a new visitor center at the entrance to the historical park.

“Master plans are important. They chart a course for development,” Jeff Fields, NGP parks division administrator from Lincoln, said.

“We are doing a lot of what people said they wanted, including more amenities. Two factors stood out. There’s not a quality visitor center out there, and we want to redesign the entrance to the park so it brings people right into the visitor center,” he said.

The new visitor center would be built to the west of the house that now sits at the entrance to Fort Kearny State Historical Park. The center may also include some educational classrooms.

After the visitor center is constructed, NPG may build a replica of the original officers’ quarters and create guest rooms in that building to provide “a real historical experience,” Fields said.

“There’s a lot of history in that park. Its importance to the Oregon and Mormon trails by that fort emphasizes its importance,” he added.

John Hoggatt, commissioner of the NPG’s Division 4, envisions living history re-enactors at the historical park, perhaps graduate students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney who are studying history. “That would let visitors take a step back in time,” he said.

Also envisioned there are:

• Parade ground reconstruction.
• An interpretive play fort.
• Outdoor classroom/amphitheater.
• Southeast earthworks interpretive trail.
• New entrances to the stockade (Fort Mitchell).
• New paths.

A rich history

The new visitor center will replace the current one, built in 1968, which sits some distance north of the park entrance. “Many of the visitor center displays are antiquated,” according to the 60-page master plan. Its structure and HVAC system are outdated, and more room is needed to store artifacts, maps and historical records.

The fort fed and housed people heading west on the Oregon and California trail, along with railroad workers, Pawnee and Mormon scouts and construction crews. It was a base of operation when the Army subdued the Sioux in 1855 after attacks on emigrant trains and travelers. It also served as a Pony Express station from 1860 to 1861.

By 1872, railroads replaced wagon trains as the primary means of carrying people West, so the fort was torn down.

Fort Kearny became an NGPC area in 1929 and was declared a State Historical Park in 1959. Since then, a few buildings have been reconstructed, including the stockade, a blacksmith and carpenter shop and the powder magazine.

Fort Kearny SRA

Fort Kearny is one of just three NPG sites in Nebraska with a neighboring asset: Fort Kearny State Recreation Area. “You have two different types of experiences, a historical element and a recreational area, too,” Fields said.

The 243-acre Fort Kearny State Recreation Area had its start in 1960 when Kearney County donated 30 acres to the NGPC. Over the years, more land was donated from various parties, with the latest being 57 acres from the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation in 2020.

Today, the park offers camping, fishing, swimming, disc golf, horseshoes, picnicking, boating, biking and hiking. The park’s seven sandpit lakes were originally islands of water used for grazing and drinking water for cattle.

Camping has “exploded in the last five to 10 years. The demand is huge,” Fields said. The first campground appeared in the 1960s. Now, it has 126 sites, with all but six wired with electrical camp pads. It is upgrading hook-ups from 30 to 50 amps to accommodate larger RVs.

In the past year, a new shower house has been built near the swimming beach on the park’s east end.

Also proposed:

• Bike hammock camping.
• A themed natural playscape.
• Relocate campground registration inside the campground.
• Relocated trailhead for the nature trail.
• More camping areas.
• Shoreline improvements.

In a related issue, a proposed sighting range has been moved to a site off Poole Road because of opposition by neighbors who live close to the existing parks. The Fort Kearny Shooting Sports Association donated the land. “That is going to be real nice,” Hoggatt said

A few extras

The wish list also includes a trail that would link the historical park to the Fort Kearny Hike and Bike Trail.

“That will be a challenge. We have 57 acres in there, but there’s a gap of private ground between the two parks, so we will have to work that out,” Fields said. “It’s also a great opportunity for us to put more (crane) viewing blinds on both trails and provide more opportunities to see the cranes.”

In addition, last summer, NGPC staff met with University of Nebraska at Kearney officials and representatives of the university’s History Department about a potential partnership to house the fort’s historical artifacts along with others from other state historical parks.

“We don’t have a place for those, and these items are stored right now in places that aren’t the best in terms of climate control,” Hoggatt said.

A committee has been formed to work on this proposal. Planning will take time, “but hopefully, we can work this out,” he said.

A hazy timeline

Planning took several years and involved input from state officials, park officials and the public. “Lots of great ideas were brought forth. I’ve been involved with a lot over the years, and sometimes, someone on the outside looking in can be pretty valuable,” Hoggatt said.

But money is critical now. Paying for all the desired improvements will play a critical role in the planning process. They will be partly funded from a statewide capital maintenance fund, but that must stretch collectively to all state parks. That money runs through 2027.

This year, NGPC plans to hire a consultant to develop and design a new entrance road and visitor center. The consultant will provide cost estimates as well. The completion of this design will kick off future fundraising.

Right now, all these ideas are in very preliminary stages. With designs and blueprints still being drawn up, it is too early to predict costs of construction and more, Fields said, but if needed, the state might apply for grants or share costs with other entities.

He said funds have been set aside for design, but funding for construction will need to be secured in upcoming years. Raising funds for these types of projects takes time, he added. He urged people to be patient.

“There are always expectations that these projects will happen tomorrow, but first, we need a good design. In the next five or 10 years, I am hopeful that we’ll see progress,” Fields said.

Hoggatt’s NPG District 4 includes Buffalo County, and he’s not surprised by public support for park improvements. “Our Nebraska parks are tremendous assets. They’re cool places to visit. Fort Kearny is really neat and has opportunities to be celebrated,” he said.

“I get the opportunity to listen and learn and provide feedback and vote on things. When Kearney gets behind something, they go all in. Its support for all this doesn’t surprise me,” Hoggatt, a Holdrege native, said.

“People here have a passion for the historical park and recreation area. Many longtime employees are giving their heart and soul to that place. People are willing to work hard for that park,” he added.