3-Trails Corridor

Barnes Enclosure - Cave Spring

This Certified Site on the Santa Fe, Oregon & California National Historic trails by the National Park Service, was made famous by overland travelers who mentioned it in their letters and diaries. According to the Raytown Area Chamber of Commerce, Jesse Barnes purchased the Cave Spring area and allowed the wagon trains to camp there at the end of their long day’s journey, which averaged from 23 to 25 miles-per-day once they "jumped off" into Indian Territory. In the 1870s, Solomon Young, Harry Truman’s grandfather, owned Cave Spring.
Thanks to: David W. Jackson

Barnes Enclosure - Cave Spring

8701 E Gregory Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64133
United States
click address to open in map

Amenities

Transportation

Local Bus Route Access:

Geocache

Cache Coordinates

POINT (-94.482833 38.9923)

Cache Description

A short walk on well marked/defined hardpack surface with some light overgrowth and steep elevation changes. Cache could be in one of several locations.

Be sure to visit Santa Fe Trail Geocaching to learn about the PASSPORT ACTIVITY to accompany this Geo Tour. This container is a military ammunition canister with an identifying Santa Fe Trail Association yellow sticker on the top of the box, under the handle and the dark green geocaching.com ID is on the side of the box with the information that provides coordinates, who set the cache and who to contact for information. The cache contains a logbook to sign, a variety of items that provide information about the Santa Fe Trail as well as swag items. If you are participating in the Passport activity, the code word is located on the inside of the box, on the top of the lid and is clearly identified as Code Word.

Hint:
Head to duck island
Cache Difficulty:
2

Related Content

William M. Klein Park (a.k.a. Cave Spring)
Cave Spring Park - KC Parks

History

Cave Spring, on the National Register of Historic Places, was a noted camp site for travelers heading west. Imagine that much of the Jackson County countryside, even in the early trail days, was eventually owned by private landowners who had substantial estates. Where were thousands of overland travelers to camp and rest each night before continuing on their journey? According to their website, at least two 1846 first-hand accounts mention the Barnes Enclosure-Cave Spring. Susan Shelby Magoffin, one of the first women to travel along the Santa Fe Trail to Mexico, wrote in her diary of traveling with her husband, Captain Magoffin, a trader, and spending the night in the Barnes Enclosure. Also, in a letter to their sister, the Glasgow brothers, international traders on the trail, mention camping at the Barnes enclosure. Magoffin’s diary also mentions meeting these brothers on the trail.
Thanks to: David W. Jackson