The city of Kearney was founded in 1871 under the name Kearney Junction. Rev. D.N. Smith and Moses S. Sydenham were tasked with the job of choosing a townsite. In 1873, after much debate, the small railroad stop was named Kearney. Over the years, the town continued to grow; it really began to boom in 1886, when the Frank family completed construction on an electric power plant, ushering in an unprecedented era of construction and business in the small town. By 1889, over 700 homes had been built in the area. The allure of commerce and real estate drew many investors from the East to Kearney, where they developed neighborhoods filled with impressive mansions. Today, these homes stand as landmarks and testimonies to the historic figures who built Kearney from the ground up.