Be sure to visit www.santafetrail.org/geocaching to learn about the PASSPORT ACTIVITY to accompany this Geo Tour. The historic stone corral site was on the the south side of the lower crossing of the Little Arkansas River, directly east of this cache site. This corral was probably one of the the most famous structures at the crossings and was built in connection with the trading ranch and stage station there. Stone for the corral was quarried 2 miles away. The corral was used from the early 1860s until after the Santa Fe Trail was abandoned. At some later time the stone walls were dismantled, and the stone was used for construction at other locations. Today no trace remains of the corral and the location is farmed. This 200 x 300 foot stone enclosure, having walls 8 feet high and 30 inches thick, was an overnight camping spot for trail travelers. There was a trading post here, and military troops were stationed nearby in 1865 and 1867.
At the Little Arkansas River crossing, less than a mile over McPherson County's west line into Rice County, is a major point of interest on the Santa Fe Trail. At one time, a very large cottonwood tree, known as the Marker Cottonwood, showed travelers where to cross the river, however, that cottonwood has died, and has fallen down. Still visible when the water is low are the stones that were laid in the river bed for the wagons to cross on while fording the stream. About 1,000 feet south of the crossing, on the west side of the river, was located the long since dismantled Stone Corral, a 200 x 300 foot stone enclosure that provided accommodations and protection for travelers. Also in the area are the “Depressions” - what are left of dugouts along the river bank where soldiers protecting the trail lived. Three stone Santa Fe Trail markers and trail ruts are in the general vicinity.
For a more detailed description of the area, visit: http://genealogytrails.com/kan/rice/history6.html for a Story of Early Rice County, By HORACE JONES, Published, December, 1928, CHAPTER V--The Old Santa Fe Trail.
This container on the Santa Fe National Historic Trail Geo Tour is a military ammunition canisters, Each 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. Permission to set caches has been obtained. We ask that all cachers please respect all property at the sites where our caches are set.