The History of a Place

History is often overlooked until a person is a decade or two into adulthood. Living in the present doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the lessons of the past behind.

A plot of land has its history along with its inhabitants. This farm began with settlers claiming a quarter of land and persevering through extreme conditions. Unfortunately, this infringed on the Native Americans in the area as so many did.

The first settlers prioritized the building of a horse barn with a lean-to shelter for themselves on the south side. It was a tiny dwelling indeed. Later, it sheltered a small flock of chickens.

The barn was built after fieldwork was finished for the day. Often the work was done by lantern-light. The following season the house was built and later wood granaries were added. Eventually, a pumphouse for the well was added to protect the pumpjack and provide an enclosure for heating in the winter. There was no running water. Electricity came into the area in the 1950s. This helped make life easier in so many ways!

The settlers sold the farmstead to a neighbor who traded it to another neighbor. It fell into the hands of a bachelor who required the next buyer to be married to purchase. It was sold to my husband’s family.

The hand-drawn maps shown here were drawn by my father-in-law in the 1950s. It was with great detail that he included geographical differences.

Upon adulthood, my husband wanted to buy the ‘home quarter’ and the requirement was the same- the buyer must be married. This was where I entered the picture. We had a small dairy that provided a handful of customers with fresh cream weekly and fed skim milk to pigs. The old horse barn was being used once again. It had been remodeled and reroofed but the foundation finally gave way and safety issues determined it must be removed. It was a sad day for all.

Quonsets were added in the 1960s to provide shelter for machinery and /or grain storage as needed. Then grain bins were added. And a pole barn for cattle was built in the late 1970s. Additions of land and miscellaneous buildings were added along with water development for cattle.

Organic certification took place in 2005 for the grain farm and in 2008 the cattle followed.

The farm reflects life struggles and now there is a transition. The majority of the acres are rented to a young conventional farmer yet organic certification is maintained on some hay and grazing lands.

Historically, there has been darkness over this land. Now there is a shift in beliefs. II Chronicles 7:14 comes to mind “…if my people…pray…and turn from their wicked ways…I will hear… and heal their land.” ESV. Please look that up for yourself to get the full context.

Let us remember the past to do well in the future.