Kearney Community Hall

The Kearney Community Hall was constructed by a group of locals in the early 1950s on a sliver of land next to U.S. Highway 87, owned at the time by a nearby rancher, Karl Hepp. It is located just off of Interstate 90 near the Piney Creek exit.

The hall is a 40-by-80-foot concrete block building with a framed wall separating a meeting room and old-style kitchen. The old wood dance floor is solid as can be, roughly 40 by 60 feet. There is a big, beautiful fireplace on the west wall and a small wood stage on the north end. The landscape backdrop is mostly undeveloped rangeland and hay meadows with a few scattered ranch buildings.

Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site is about a half-mile away to the west, and the Big Horn Mountains beyond that about 4 miles. It is a gorgeous setting with a rich and fascinating history, and easily accessible.

A U.S. Post Office was established at the nearby community of Kearney (not “Kearny”) in 1881. The current hall was reportedly the third Kearney Hall in that community. The hall was constructed and managed by a local club. It was used for dances, reunions, weddings, socials, Christmas programs, voting, receptions, homemaker club meetings, card playing, livestock organizational meetings, 4-H and FFA, county extension programs, and other community and recreation events. It was a hopping place.

Eventually the Kearney Hall club organizers grew old, moved away, could not justify repairs, or passed on. Utilities were shut off and all maintenance ceased. Last used in the early 1990s, the Hall fell into sad disrepair. It had been shut down, locked up, and for practical purposes, abandoned. By 2011 the original roof was leaking badly and beginning to ruin the dance floor, windows were broken, critters were making a mess. But the place was still salvageable. In 2011, a group of locals organized to raise money to restore the structure and its function of serving the community. The Kearney Community Hall Board, a non-profit organization, had its first official meeting on July 30, 2012.