The Barnes Enclosure and Cave Spring

Cave Spring, also known as the Barnes Enclosure, is one of the few remaining physical remnants of the Santa Fe Trail and a local landmark that is connected to leading residents such as Harry S. Truman. The Santa Fe trail connected Independence to traders in the American Southwest, and it passed through Cave Spring allowing travelers to rest and obtain water for themselves and their animals. Jesse Barnes purchased the land that included Cave Spring by the 1840s, but he still allowed pioneers to stay on his land and some even stayed in his home. In later years, Harry S. Truman's grandfather purchased the property, allowing the eventual U.S. President to spend time there as a young man. 

The Santa Fe Trail materialized in the early 1820s as a lucrative trade exchange route between Mexico and the United States. The trail benefitted several Missouri towns and regions as they served as starting points for travelers. By 1828, the newly-founded Independence, Missouri, on the Missouri River, evolved into a starting point for the Santa Fe Trail. The town's dominance as a launching point for westward travelers lasted nearly a decade before Kansas City (known as Westport) emerged as a competing location; travelers left from either town until the 1850s. The Independence Trail, or Old Santa Fe Road, crossed through Cave Spring, about ten miles south of Independence. Cave Spring ostensibly functioned as an oasis, or campground, on the trail. Visitors could obtain water for themselves, as well as their cattle and horses, before pushing westward. 

Several small farms appeared near the farm, including the historic Barnes' Enclosure, where some westward travelers stayed in the home of its owner, Jesse Barnes. By 1845, the Barnes' Enclosure property included Cave Spring. Barnes moved to Jackson County in 1839 from Kentucky and creatively secured far more property than local laws would otherwise have allowed. When he arrived, laws prohibited anyone from purchasing more than 160 acres of land. However, Barnes acted on the fact that he had four sons about to come of age, at which time each would be eligible for 160 acres. So, he plowed up to 800 acres of land and put up signs proclaiming: "Barnes' Enclosure. 

Numerous diaries of those heading along the Santa Fe Trail include entries describing Barnes, his home, and his farmland. Many stayed in his house, while others -- entire wagon trains -- stayed on his land near the springs. Meanwhile, two of Jesse's sons, C.R. and S.S. Barnes, participated in the Santa Fe trade. What is not well understood is the effect Barnes had on the Cave Springs land. Before Jesse Barnes established his farm, people described the unclaimed land around the springs as a prairie land with plenty of timber. Barnes and his sons cultivated land, so one can only surmise the extent of their influence on the local environment. 

Nevertheless, even after Jesse Barnes died in 1852, people mentioned staying on the land they called Barnes Springs or Cave Springs. As noted by the National Park Service, "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 home. Also, in a letter to his sister, William Glasgow, a Santa Fe trader, stayed overnight with the Barnes in 1846. A few days later, Susan Magoffin and her maid also stayed overnight with the Barnes Family. Magoffin's diary also mentions meeting these brothers on the trail." Although, traffic through Cave Spring diminished significantly by the mid-1850s as Kansas City (Westport) arose as the preferred launching point to the West.

The Barnes family owned the property until 1859, when it passed to Col. James Chiles, a Kentucky native who suffered severe injuries during the Seminole War in Florida in 1837. He came to Jackson County in 1832 and relied on slave labor to develop a large plantation. He also served several terms in the state legislature. He owned the Barnes land from 1859 to 1861, although his family (some of whom served in the Confederate Army) had connections to the property through the early 1870s. Finally, in 1881, Harry. S. Truman's grandfather purchased at least a portion of the land; accounts exist of Truman spending time at Cave Spring. 

Since the late nineteenth century, the property has passed from owner to owner. Although a few homes appeared from time to time, and at least one owner attempted to develop the land into a resort property, the only extensive development came during the 1920s and '30s when a family opened a country club and golf course on the property, which operated until the late 1940s. After its closure, the construction of a new church revealed the spring again, starting efforts to leave the spring and caves unaltered. Although the spring's flow has decreased significantly, likely due to both anthropogenic and natural influences, its survival provides onlookers with a glimpse of what the area looked like to travelers about to embark on a lengthy journey to the American Southwest.

"Cave Spring." Raytown Chamber of Commerce. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://raytownchamber.com/cave-spring/.

Denny, James M. "Nomination Form: Cave Spring." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. 1976. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Cave%20Spring.pdf.

Sanchez, Michael E. Jr. "The Barnes Enclosure." The Historical Marker Database. HMdb.org. September 30, 2019. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=140275.

"Santa Fe National Historic Trail: Barnes Enclosure and Cave Spring Interpretive Center." National Park Service. Accessed April 21, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/places/barnes-enclosure-and-cave-spring-interpretive-center.htm.