Our Town Lincoln: Kennard House

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The Thomas P. Kennard house is considered to be the oldest structure in Lincoln’s original layout, and it helps us appreciate life as the city was first being developed.

During a November afternoon visit to the house, we talked with Sharon Kennedy, who is the Curator of Education for History Nebraska. “This house was built in 1869 by the first secretary of state, Thomas P. Kennard,” Kennedy said. “He was born in Ohio, lived in Indiana, and then came to DeSoto, Nebraska and eventually got into politics. He built this home mainly as a symbol and a testimony to his belief in Lincoln as the new capital city. He was one of the first commissioners to select Lincoln as the capital after we became a state in 1867. But there were a lot of people who were pessimistic that Lincoln could succeed. It was a prairie town of 30 residents, less than a handful of businesses, and there was real skepticism. So, he and the two other commissioners built beautiful Italianate-style homes like this. But this is the only one that remains. A matter of fact, it’s really the only structure that we know of that remains from that original plat.”

It turns out that visitors learn a great deal about life in the 1800′s, but also about the struggle to create a new capital city when touring the home. “They learn about the man, Thomas P. Kennard and his family,” Kennedy said. “He married Livia Templeton and had three children. He raised those children in this home. More importantly, you learn about Nebraska’s early statehood, and the path of statehood. The territorial capital was Omaha, and a new capital city needed to be found partly to keep peace between those living on the south side of the river, and those living on the north side of the river. That left a huge responsibility for these three commissioners to find this capital city, and then develop it.”

“People can see most of the house when visiting,” Kennedy said. “There are two stories. You’ll see the three bedrooms of the family, a working kitchen, dining room, and the parlor which was an important room, because that’s where most of the entertaining of guests would take place.” You can also see the back portion of the grounds, where part of the house used to be. “A back part of the house was removed in then 1920′s, which is unfortunate,” Kennedy said. “But there was an archaeological dig in the 1990′s, so you can learn where the well was at, where the cistern was, and where other structures were located.”

Tours at the Kennard House are usually available year-round. However, they are not yet open due to COVID, and hope to resume tours by mid to late January.

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