The Birthplace
George Washington Carver was born on a farm near Diamond Grove, Missouri (now simply Diamond, Missouri), in Newton County. The farm belonged to Moses and Susan Carver, a German-American couple who had purchased George's mother, Mary, around 1855.
The exact location of his birth is preserved today as the George Washington Carver National Monument, making it one of the most historically significant sites in American agricultural and civil rights history.
The Moses Carver Farm
Moses Carver was an immigrant from Germany who settled in Missouri. Though he personally opposed slavery, he purchased Mary (George's mother) to help with household work. The Carvers had no children of their own and treated Mary relatively well by the standards of the time.
The farm was located in a border region during the Civil War, making it vulnerable to raids from both Union and Confederate forces. It was during one such raid that infant George and his mother were kidnapped.
The Kidnapping
When George was just an infant, Confederate raiders known as "bushwhackers" kidnapped him and his mother Mary. Moses Carver hired a Union scout named John Bentley to find them. Bentley recovered baby George in Arkansas, but Mary was never found and is presumed to have died. Moses traded a $300 racehorse to get George back.
The National Monument Today
The George Washington Carver National Monument was established on July 14, 1943, just months after Carver's death. It was:
- The first national monument dedicated to an African American
- The first national monument honoring someone other than a president
- A 240-acre park preserving the landscape of Carver's childhood
Visitors can explore the Moses Carver house site, the 1881 Carver family cemetery, nature trails, and a museum dedicated to Carver's life and achievements.