Grant County (original) (raw)
Situated on the High Plains in the far southwestern part of Kansas, Grant County was created in 1887 out of Hamilton County territory, by an act of the Kansas Legislature and named in honor of General Ulysses S. Grant.
Long before the county was formed; however, numerous travelers made their way through the area along the Cimarron Branch of the old Santa Fe Trail. Mostly prairie, these hardy pioneers traveled along the Cimarron River that, unfortunately, was dry most of the time, even back then.
The Santa Fe Trail entered what was later to become Grant County midway of its eastern boundary and continued its southwesterly course, crossing the North Fork of the Cimarron River, before making its way to the well-known "Lower Springs," later known as the "Wagon Bed Spring" on the Cimarron River. The Jornada stretch was a perilous route for both men and animals in the dry season as the wagon trains often ran out of water and their arrival at the oasis of Wagon Bed Spring was a welcome relief.