Floodgap Roadgap's Summer of 6 -- U.S. Highway 6, Part 19: US 6 in Nebraska (Holdrege to Hastings; Phelps, Kearney and Adams Counties)

US 6/US 34

Kearney county's name comes from the famous Camp Kearny named in honour of General Stephen W. Kearny, best known for his exploits in the Mexican-American War. (Another Camp Kearny exists in San Diego along old US Highway 395.) This camp dates from earlier in his career, when then-Col. Kearny frequently ordered his forces to escort travelers along the Oregon Trail as a defense against Native American raids. The fort was built in response in 1846 along Table Creek near modern-day Nebraska City, but the Army realized quickly that few emigrants passed through that specific location and moved the fort south to the Platte River in 1848. It became a major trail stop with over 4,000 wagons passing through by June 1849 and an organizing point for the Indian Wars until the railroad passing through made the trail obsolete. It was decommissioned in 1871.

This was all irrelevant to Kearny, though, because by 1846 he had been ordered as a brigadier general to raise his famous Army of the West. He easily took control of New Mexico and, despite Kearny's embarrassing defeat at the hands of Andrés Pico and his mounted Californio Lancers, Commodore Robert F. Stockton gained control with his Marine and bluejacket Navy forces and their combined attacks secured the capitulation of the Californios and the Treaty of Cahuenga in 1847. Kearny eventually asserted military control of the state (to the great ire of John C. Frémont and Commodore Stockton, his backer) and was later appointed governor of Veracruz and eventually Mexico City. This didn't last long, as he contracted yellow fever in Veracruz and retired to St. Louis to die in 1848 at the age of 54.

The excess 'e' was a late add to the Nebraska fort, and eventually to some but not all of the other geographic and man-made features to bear his name, by postal workers who were apparently unable to consistently spell it. This later rendering was then applied to the county when it was organized in 1860. A small county of 6,530 [2017] residents, its county seat is Minden, which we will reach shortly in this Part.

Named for John Adams, the second president of the United States, it was formed in 1867 but not organized until 1871. Its county seat and largest city is Hastings, which we reach at the end of this Part. The modern county has 31,678 residents [2017].

Somewhere between Heartwell and Juniata, the original roadbed of the OLD/DLD diverted from modern US 6 north up an unknown road to proceed parallel and east into Hastings. Map evidence doesn't make it clear where this is, though this reference claims the diversion was roughly five miles west of Juniata. If so, that would probably be either County Rd 11-5W (Bladen Ave) or 12-0W (Overland Ave); no other clear junction would meet that requirement. Much of it is not paved even today and I did not travel it at the time.

Fork 1: Business US 6 in Hastings

The exact historical routing in Hastings is not well attested by map evidence, but it is pretty clear the southern routing was a later bypass given how US 6 leaves town. The 2nd Street routing is fairly well documented by historical materials and seems to have been the original alignment of the Omaha-Lincoln-Denver Highway (we'll talk more about the history of the OLD/DLD as we get closer to Lincoln), becoming US 38 as signed in 1928. The bypass routing was a rather early change appearing in references as early as 1930 along the current alignment south of the downtown. Its impetus was federal funding, which regarded the downtown alignment as unacceptably congested and unsuitable for national defense purposes. Most references show it opening around 1931; it may not have had a US 6 shield at that time, so it is quite possible the historic business route wasn't ever signed as US 6 previously. Until 1970 what is now Business US 6 was signed CITY US 6, with a city banner (one of two in Nebraska; the other was in Lincoln).

However, as we mentioned earlier, S-1C isn't how the original US 38 approached town; that former alignment is on the OLD/DLD running parallel to us a quarter mile north and is signed in NAVTEQ as "DLD Road." Leaving Juniata (where S-1B terminates), it becomes W South St to intercept S-1C, makes a very small north jog on S-1C and then joins the modern business route. The relocation of the DLD out of Juniata we previously mentioned appears to have been part of the same realignment.

The last question is how it left town. A superficial analysis would suggest South Street continued on through town and indeed US 6 leaves town to the east on South Street; I think any Roadgap reader will appreciate that local later obliterations of old alignments are not at all unusual. However, the odd jog south on Elm St appears to have been part of the original routing as well and no resource I can consult indicates South St actually within the western city limits was ever part of the DLD, OLD or US 38.

The junction on the postcard depicted at right is undated, probably no later than the 1950s. A US 6 shield is shown clearly and correlates to the turnoff here. The amusing neon gantry has been long since removed.

Fork 2: US 6/US 34