Faris Caves are a series of artificially excavated

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s located along the

Smoky Hill River The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through Colorado and Kansas. Names The Smoky Hill is named from the Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas through which it flows. American Indians li ...

in central Ellsworth County,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Each of the three caves are about 12-feet square, with 10-foot arched ceiling, dug out of the

Dakota Sandstone The Dakota is a sedimentary rock, sedimentary geologic unit name of Formation (stratigraphy), formation and Group (stratigraphy), group rank in Midwestern North America. The Dakota units are generally composed of sandstones, mudstones, clays, and ...

with a

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...

by Coloradan miner Charles Griffee in the 1880s. Fresh spring water flowed through one of the caves to help keep food and supplies cool in the hot months. Griffee sold his land and caves to Winfield and William Faris in 1893. A house was built nearby, with the caves continuing to be used for storage, a spring house, generator room, and for a short time, a schoolhouse.

References

Protected areas of Ellsworth County, Kansas Tourist attractions in Ellsworth County, Kansas {{Kansas-protected-area-stub