Homesteaders

Doraville and the Hackenberg Family

page_1_thumb_large.jpg


Agnes Lamb on the day she filed on her homestead land near the town of Washburn, North Dakota, ca. 1906
egp.gen.040.jpg
 

Meanderer said:
NOTE: By clicking on the link above the picture, you will find their Family Journal. If you click on full screen and use the magnifier slide, at the bottom, you will be able to read the entries.
Click to expand...
I just skimmed through that family journal, but found an interesting poem by William Hackenburg (1894-1967), p 221. He was not a homesteader, a WWI vet, maybe inspired by the Depression years? His poem sounds like my uncle, the WWII vet, always a bit of a rebel.
wmspoetry.jpg
 
Wonderful thread, especially the links. Even though my tablet fights with "Doraville and the Hackenberg Family". Interesting but a very slow read.
 
Thanks for the link, Bea. So this is how the name Sooners came about!?!

Historic land rush

President Harrison opened the approximately 1.9 million acres to white settlement. As a means of quickly distributing the land to white settlers, he designated the first historic land rush. At noon on April 22, 1889, the future setters would literally be in a race to claim free land, first come, first served. In an unprecedented move, under the provisions of the Homestead Act, single women and widows could be homesteaders the same as men. It is estimated that several hundred women made the 1889 land rush.

Sooners were removed

Prior to that date, President Harrison sent two regiments of U. S. cavalry troops into the area to clear the land of squatters and ensure no one entered early. The troops also surveyed the land and divided it into 160-acre tracts marked with cornerstones. Anyone who crossed into the lands prior to noon on the appointed day would forfeit his or her right to homestead in Oklahoma. Those that tried anyway were called “sooners.”
Click to expand...


Some maps...

homestead.jpg
 
Attorneys and surveyors in front of U.S. Land Office, Round Pond, Oklahoma Territory, January 1894

179.jpg
 
Last edited:
ndynt said:
Interesting, though upsetting map, Nancy. Has anyone read "Killers of the Flower Moon" ?
https://www.npr.org/2017/04/17/5239...-to-kill-native-americans-for-their-oil-money
Click to expand...

On the map I visited that tiny little gray section of Oklahoma that is owned by or returned to Indians. It's the capitol of the Creek Nation. They have their own police dept called Creek Nation Lighthorse Police, their own hospitals, court systems, etc.

Also visited Fort Sill and Geronimo's grave. People still leave dream catchers, smudge incense, etc. (June 16, 1829-February 17, 1909). He was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache.
 
pikes_peakpic.jpg Pikes Peak, Colorado, U.S.A.

"Believe It or Not, Someone Once Homesteaded Atop Old Pikes Peak"

In 1889, a homestead claim for the summit of Pikes Peak was filed by Dr. Alfred G. Lewis, physician and mayor of Manitou Springs, CO. Soon after, he built a log cabin near the signal station[SUP]*[/SUP] to satisfy part of the homesteading requirements. He attempted to fulfill the agricultural requirements by hauling dirt to the summit to plant corn, wheat, oats and potatoes, which had no chance of growth. His aspirations were never to operate a real farm, but rather to sell donuts and coffee to tourists. His “lunch counter” operation continued for five or six years, however, Dr. Lewis' homestead claim was eventually denied by the Dept. of Agriculture. The land was sold to Zalmon G. Simmons, inventor and founder of the Simmons Beautyrest Mattress Company, who financed and built the cog railway to the summit of Pikes Peak in 1891.

pikepeaklewishomestead1889.jpg[SUP]

*[/SUP]The first structure to stand atop Pikes Peak was a two-room stone building, the Army's Pikes Peak Weather Observatory. It was dedicated on Oct 11, 1873, and abandoned in 1888.

ic947.1055.jpg


Sources: The Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, Oct 18, 1964 (headline); Historic Manitou, Inc.; Manitou Springs, by Deborah Harrison, Arcadia Publishing Co, 2003; Pikes Peak America's Mountain ; Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway ; and Colorado Springs Gazette

Breaking News: "As of March 15, 2018, the Broadmoor Company, current owner of the cog railway, has ceased operations for the foreseeable future. They state the entire infrastructure needs to be replaced and/or upgraded; this includes the rails, the ties, and the passenger cars." :(

http://www.krdo.com/news/top-stories/future-cloudy-for-pikes-peak-cog-railway/716057923 (won't link, cut and paste)
 
Last edited:
Meanderer said:
Click to expand...
Missed this the first go 'round cause I didn't realize it was a video. Great pictures and music. I can't imagine living like that, but I guess you would be so busy you wouldn't have time to think about it. If you could stick it out, it was probably well worth it in some parts of the country. Thanks, Meanderer.
 
Last edited:
Aunt Bea said:
It's hard for me to realize that the settlement of the western states was not that long ago, my mother was born in 1918.
Click to expand...
Me too. Heck, the Civil War wasn't all that long ago. I remember when the last Civil War Vet died. My grandfather was born in 1870.
 

Back
Top