Nebraska City - Fort Kearny Cut-Off
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 40° 49.361 W 097° 33.428
14T E 621673 N 4520075
Historical marker located at I-80 West Bound York Rest Area, milepost 355
Waymark Code: WMNDV
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 08/26/2006
Views: 34
"Massive freighting of supplies by ox and mule trains was a direct result of
the establishment of Fort Kearny and other western military posts. The Mormon
War and the discovery of gold in the territories of Colorado and Montana
increased this trade, and Nebraska City became a major freighting center between
1858 and 1865. Early freighters used the Ox-Bow Trail which looped northward to
the Platte Valley and west to Fort Kearny. The competition with other Missouri
River Towns forced the freighters to seek a shorter, quicker route. The new
route, the Nebraska City-Fort Kearny Cut-off, passed near this point. It was
originally marked by a plowed furrow of over 180 miles. In 1862 Joseph Brown
brought to Nebraska his famed steam wagon, an invention that would hopefully
revolutionize plains freighting. Bridges were constructed and other improvements
were made to facilitate this machine. The experiment was a failure and the wagon
never got beyond the outskirts of Nebraska City; even so, the cut-off is also
known as the "Steam Wagon Road."
Overland freighting reached its peak in 1865 when over 44 million pounds of
supplies were shipped from Nebraska City. The construction of the Union Pacific
Railroad across Nebraska, however, signaled the end of major freighting on this
trail." ~ marker text #174
