Gem
Named for J. W. Ellsworth's Gem Ranch
which was a stop on the right-of-way of the Chicago, Kansas &
Nebraska Railroad. The town was organized in the summer of 1887
and was close by the Reed homestead. The Reed family were the
first settlers of the county.
The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.
Sources
Wingo, Wayne C. A History
of Thomas County. Masters Thesis, Fort Hays Kansas State
College, 1964.
Bruner, R. I., Editor. Land
of the Windmills Thomas County, Kansas. Thomas County Historical
Society, 1976.
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