Near Diamond in Newton County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
What an Orphan Chooses to Forget - and Remember
George Washington Carver National Monument
| — | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | — |
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 22, 2011
1. What an Orphan Chooses to Forget - and Remember Marker
Sometime near the end of the Civil War, a slave was born here in a cabin. His mother, Mary, named the baby - her second son - George. Moses Carver had purchased Mary as an enslaved person back in 1855, when she was about 13 years old.
Years of violence and guerrilla war had terrorized settlers here on the frontier Missouri-Kansas border. According to Moses Carver, when raiders found no cash at his farm, they carried off Mary and her baby. Imagine the fear and hopelessness that must have overcome Mary.
Moses asked a local Union scout, John Bentley, to recover his stolen property. Bentley returned with a very sick George, but Mary had disappeared. Carver rewarded Bentley with a $300 racehorse. In George's later memory of this story, he focused on how Moses had made a special effort to get him back. To George, this seemed the first tangible indication that he was a special person, destined to accomplish much with his life.
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil.
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Location. 36° 59.225′ N, 94° 21.297′ W. Marker is near Diamond, Missouri, in Newton County. It can be reached from Carver Road. Marker is near the cabin footprint along the nature trail at 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: Birthplace of George Washington Carver (a few steps from this marker); Special Moments in the Woods (within shouting distance of this marker); The Plant Doctor (within shouting
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 22, 2011
2. What an Orphan Chooses to Forget - and Remember Marker
Estimated location of the cabin in background.
Other markers no longer nearby. George Washington Carver's Birthplace (was about 300 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); George Washington Carver National Monument (was about 300 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Also see . . .
1. George Washington Carver National Monument. National Park Service website entry (Submitted on April 27, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. George Washington Carver. Famous Missourians website entry (Submitted on April 27, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 22, 2011
3. George Washington Carver National Monument
Photographed by Jason Voigt, September 19, 2026
4. What an Orphan Chooses to Forget - and Remember Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 25, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 905 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 27, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 4. submitted on September 25, 2026, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.
