Diamond Spring

Diamond Spring, a natural spring in western Morris County near Wilsey, Kansas, became a well-known camp on the Santa Fe Trail because it provided dependable water, grass, and shade trees in a demanding plains landscape. Found in 1825 by the hunter Old Ben Jones during the U.S. government’s survey of the route, it was called “The Diamond of the Plain” by survey commissioners, a name travelers shortened. Its importance is shown by its appearance in every recorded trail guide of the period and in many travelers’ journals. Later, a stagecoach station and store stood there, and a now unusable irrigation system to a nearby ranch still remains.

Kansas · United States