Kearney County Courthouse

In the Kearney County courthouse you will be able to find the county court (Box 377) and the district court (Box 208) each of which is part of their respective Tenth judicial district of Nebraska. US 6 and US 34 connect in Kearney county to SR 44, SR 74 and SR 10 which also links up with SR 50A.

Much to everyone's surprise, around 1876, Minden a large patch of open prairie was chosen as the county seat. Subsequently residents of Minden unceremoniously collected the county records from Lowell, the original county seat, and brought them to their town which had now grown to include a schoolhouse, a courthouse building, a post office and a general store. By the 1880's the town included five physicians and six lawyers and witnessed the arrival of the Burlington & Missouri River and Kansas City & Omaha railroads. The Harold Warp "Pioneer Village" consists of twenty-six buildings which contain more than 50,000 objects of memorabilia from 1830 to the present. The village attracts visitors in increasing numbers from everywhere adding significantly to the city's tourist industry. The Kearney County Historical museum holds over 7000 items of memorabilia in buildings which include the first school in Minden, the first store and post office in Kearney County and one of the first train depots in Kearney County. The Minden Opera House, circa 1891, has now been restored and is the site of art showings, theatrical productions and high school and public events. Look it up if you are in town to attend one of its regularly scheduled entertainment events. Ft. Kearny State Historical Park and Recreational area, on on Link 50A, is the site of Fort Kearney a re-created military post, originally built in 1848 to protect Oregon Trail travelers and to outfit soldiers for Indian campaigns. The complex includes a stockade, blacksmith shop, parade grounds and interpretive center.