Near Diamond in Newton County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Home Folks

George Washington Carver National Monument

— National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior —

Home Folks Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jason Voigt, September 19, 2026

1. Home Folks Marker

Inscription.
In the late 1860s and early 1870s when George rambled in these woods, he never saw this pond. Below the still waters you see trapped here today is the gravel-and-rock-filled bed of a spring-fed creek.

Here young George often frolicked with the nearest playmates, Thomas and Martha Jane Williams. Thomas and Martha Jane's mother was Moses Carver's niece. Their 1860s farmhouse no longer exists.

Your letter causes tears to come to my eyes as I recall childhood's happy days. As a boy, Thomas…(your Father) was my ideal young man, I loved him as I did my own brother…[he was] one of my dearest boyhood playmates…My heart indeed goes out to my dear "Home Folks"…
George Washington Carver, letters to Eva Goodwin, 1928-29

Photo caption:
As you explore, look in the shallows near the far side of the pond for the remnants of a spring house foundation. That spring house was part of Carver's childhood on what he later called "the old homeplace."

In 1931 later owners dammed the creek to make this pond.

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

• Parks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the George Washington Carver series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1931.

Location. 36° 59.31′ N, 94° 21.307′ W. Marker is near Diamond, Missouri, in Newton County. It can be reached from Carver Road. Marker is on the Carver Trail, on the grounds of George Washington Carver National Monument. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5646 Carver Road, Diamond MO 64840, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Missouri. It is also in the American Ozarks,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: His First Prayer (a few steps from this marker); Special Moments in the Woods (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); From Pebbles to Paintings (about

Photographed by Jason Voigt, September 19, 2026

2. Home Folks Marker

400 feet away); The Plant Doctor (about 400 feet away); From Farm to Classroom (about 400 feet away); What an Orphan Chooses to Forget - and Remember (about 500 feet away); The Persimmon Tree (about 500 feet away); Birthplace of George Washington Carver (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Diamond.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Williams' Spring (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

More about this marker. Marker may have replaced this one.

Also see . . .
1. George Washington Carver National Monument (National Park Service). (Submitted on September 25, 2026, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)
2. George Washington Carver National Monument on Wikipedia. (Submitted on September 25, 2026, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 25, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 25, 2026, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 3 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 25, 2026, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.