Brewster | Colby | Gem | Halford | Levant | Menlo | Mingo | Otterbourne | Rexford
Homesteading in Thomas County
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