National and State Registers of Historic Places
Santa Fe Trail - Grant County Segment 1 (Klein's Ruts)
Address Restricted
Ulysses (Grant County)
Listed in National Register
Jul 17, 2013
Architect: N/A
Category: transportation
Thematic Nomination: Historic Resources of the Santa Fe Trail (Amended 2013)
The Santa Fe Trail - Grant County Segment 1, also known as Klein's Ruts, is located in Grant County, in southwest Kansas. This segment is part of an approximately 40-mile branch of the Cimarron Route that was located entirely within the waterless area known as La Jornada and connected the Mountain Route at the Upper Crossing of the Arkansas River near Lakin, Kansas with the Cimarron Route. Relatively little is known about this branch between the two rivers, but the first known use of the Upper Crossing in relation to the trail was during a survey expedition led by George Sibley in 1825 (though he did not survey this site). The nominated property includes several visible trail swales where at least 20 shallow ruts converge to form four main arterial ruts. It was nominated for its significance in the areas of transportation and commerce, and it has the potential to yield additional important information about this 40-mile branch road between the Arkansas and Cimarron Rivers in Kansas.