Last updated: August 8, 2026
Place
First Buffalo Sighting 1847
Photo/L. Kreutzer
Quick Facts
Location:
Archway Monument grounds, 3050 E 1st St., Kearney, Buffalo Co., NE, along the walk/bike trail across the bridge GPS 40.671624 -99.038832 (“Buffalo-At Last” wayside) GPS 40.671663 -99.039018 (“Fate of the American Bison” wayside)
Significance:
In this area Brigham Young’s 1847 vanguard party of Latter-day Saints spotted and hunted the first buffalo they had encountered on the trail, bringing much-needed meat into camp. Later emigrants to Utah, California, and Oregon also encountered bison, a notable part of the westering experience, in this area.
Designation:
Historic site on the Mormon Pioneer, Oregon, and California NHTs.
MANAGED BY:
Archway Monument, City of Kearney.
Amenities
15 listed
Accessible Rooms, Accessible Sites, Benches/Seating, Cellular Signal, Food/Drink - Snacks, Gifts/Souvenirs/Books, Grill, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Picnic Shelter/Pavilion, Picnic Table, Restroom, Trailhead, Water - Drinking/Potable, Wheelchair Accessible
On May 1, 1847, the vanguard company of Latter-day Saints spotted several bison on a bluff about 6 miles from camp and some large herds a few miles beyond. Several parties of hunters rode after them, but their inexperience with bison behavior put the men in danger as they excitedly spurred their horses into the herds. The wagons continued along the trail, frequently stopping to watch the action at a distance, and some emigrants observed the goings-on through spyglasses. All the hunters managed to escape serious injury, and during several hours of effort and many miles of hard riding, they killed a bull, 3 cows, and 6 calves. “The brethren’s faces beamed with joy to see the meat come into camp,” wrote camp scribe William Clayton. “Some of them expressed astonishment at the size and ferocious appearance of the buffalo. The meat is very sweet and tender as veal.”
The company would hunt more bison while continuing up the Platte River. Recalled Louisa Barnes Pratt, who took her family west with other Latter-day Saints in 1848, “Nothing I had ever seen amused so much as watching the buffaloes. As well as I loved the meat, when I saw the men pursuing one intending to kill him, I always wished in my heart he might elude them and escape with his life.” Oregon- and California-bound emigrants looked forward to spotting their first bison, too, and many of them rode into the herds to experience the hunt. Not all escaped injury from the horns and hooves of wounded buffalo, which could weigh as much as 2,000 lbs. Some hunters lost their weapons during the furious melee, and sometimes horses unseated their riders and galloped off with the herd.
Most successful hunters brought the heavy meat—as much as they were able to pack out—back to camp, but some men killed buffalo just for the thrill and left the animals to rot on the prairie. Other emigrants found that behavior wasteful and cruel but could do little to stop it. In addition to meat, bison provided “buffalo chips,” dried manure patties used as campfire fuel on the treeless plain, and their whitened skulls along the trail served as “message boards” where emigrants scrawled brief notes to friends and family traveling behind. However, the massive animals also caused travel hazards. Sometimes moving herds blocked the trail for hours, and stampeding bison could overturn the wagons. Their hooves also made the wagon trail rough. Bison habitually walk in single file, in long columns sometimes side by side and a few feet apart: Appleton Milo Harmon reported seeing a line of bison “at least four miles” long as the animals migrated between the sandhills and the river. The resulting furrows were about 15 inches wide and 4 inches deep, creating a rough “washboard” capable of snapping wagon axles.
Site Information
Location (Archway Monument grounds, 3050 E 1st St., Kearney, Buffalo Co., NE, along the walk/bike trail across the bridge GPS 40.671624 -99.038832 (“Buffalo-At Last” wayside) GPS 40.671663 -99.039018 (“Fate of the American Bison” wayside))