Kearney /ˈkɑːrni/ is a city in Clay County, Missouri, United States.

[4] The city was the birthplace of Jesse James, and there is an annual festival in the third weekend of September to recognize the outlaw.

Kearney was unofficially founded in the spring of 1856 by David T. Duncan and W. R. Cave, and was originally called Centerville.

In 1867, John Lawrence began laying out plans for another small settlement around the newly established Kansas City and Cameron Railroad subsidiary of the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad which was to build the Hannibal Bridge establishing Kansas City, Missouri as the dominant city in the region.

The railroad still operates as the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.

[7] Kearney is located in north central Clay County northeast of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

[8] Kearney lies in the humid continental climate zone, typical of the Midwestern United States.

It experiences cold, snowy winters, and warm to hot, humid summers.

The 2020 United States census[12] counted 10,404 people, 3,727 households, and 2,856 families in Kearney.

Of all households, 20.9% consisted of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

19.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

James formed the infamous James-Younger gang in 1866, which operated until the Younger brothers were captured in 1876.

James formed a new gang in 1879 and continued until his death on April 3, 1882, when he was shot by fellow gang-member Robert Ford.