Tour the Jesse James Farm and Museum, which is the birthplace of the Confederate rebel-turned-train robber. You will learn all about their lives through a movie and the many artifacts on display in the visitor’s center and the farmhouse, after which you can walk the trails that they did and see the site of Jesse’s first grave (his final one is also in Kearney), which his mother turned into a paying tourist attraction. Keeping up with the outlaw theme, your whole family will enjoy an afternoon spent in the 134-acre Jesse James Park. There are walking and jogging trails of varying degrees of difficulty, along with a playground, rolling hills and great places to picnic and throw the football around. Right in the middle of the Jesse James Park is the Kearney Amphitheater, a state-of-the-art venue where you can enjoy concerts, movies, yearly jazz and blues festivals and frequent appearances by local musicians.
Step back in history without going the outlaw route at the Watkins Woolen Mill State Historic Site, where you will learn about life and work in Missouri during the 1800s. The Watkins mill contains what many consider to be the best collection of mid-19th century textile machinery in North America, and includes significant surviving textile artifacts. Learn about the technology of a textile mill, see how wool yarn was made, explore the role of women in the mills and come to understand the specific impact of the industrial revolution on this mill and this community.
If you would like to explore even more of the area’s past, then check out the Kearney Museum, where you can trace the town’s history since its founding back when it was still called Centerville in 1856. Your kids will like the original post office window and the drug store display. Head out to nearby Liberty to the Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary to learn about wildlife in a 53-acre estate designated by its owner as a wildlife sanctuary and now supported by the public.
While its past seems inextricably linked with its famous outlaw son, this community is proud of its agricultural and early industrial history as well. Stay at one of the hotels in Kearney listed above to begin your exploration of one of the fastest-growing cities in the state.