t n

SOD HOUSE e AT THE PRAIRIE MUSEUM OF m ART AND

e HISTORY l t t

Before the first encroachment of white settlers, e Thomas County was to the Cheyenne, Arapahoe and the American Bison or buffalo.

S The buffalo was essential to the existence of the Native Americans. The buffalo provided food and for the Indians, and the Indian hon- The Homestead Act ored the buffalo by wasting little of their valuable Europeans and Americans from bodies. It was this delicate and carefully main- further east were drawn to the Plains by tained balance between the Indians and the buf- the lure of free land. The Homestead falo that was exploited by those who wished to Act of 1862 encouraged settlement by open the lands between the Mississippi and the allowing any individual to claim 160 Rocky Mountains for settlement. acres free and clear if he or she lived on and farmed the claim for five years. This offer seemed too good to pass up. Adventurers, people who were looking for a new start, and those who couldn't afford to buy land were at- tracted to the western Plains.

Starting in 1873, the great buffalo hunt began in this area. An estimated 1,500 white hunters, skinners, and camp cooks came to clear the buf- falo off the land. Some meat was put to use, but most were killed only for their valuable hides and tongues or just for the sport of it. The slaughter went on for five years in Western Kansas and by 1878 all that remained were a few rotting car- casses and old sun bleached bones. sides the low cost of construction. The thick sod walls kept the house cool in the summer and made it easy to heat in the winter. And you would be far better off in a soddie during a prairie fire than you would in a frame house.

Among those who came out to Thomas County to homestead were two women, Melissa Alger and Alice Williams, who took out neighboring claims, built their soddies on adjoining corners of their respective lands, and alternated spend- ing their nights in each other's for com- pany and safety.

"We had two beds for the adults and two trundle beds for us children. The trundle beds were pushed under the big beds in the day time and brought out at night for "We had a dirt floor in the and at night us to sleep on."- Mrs. Marion Moore when we started to go to bed the fleas were so James, Bill: Sod House Pioneers bad we would stand on chairs to remove our clothing before getting into bed." -Thomas G. Patten, Wingo, Wayne: The History of Thomas The Soddie County Why would anyone want to build a home out of dirt? When settlers arrived in this part of the in the 1870s, that's all there was. There weren't many trees. Lumber could be brought in on the railroad, but it was expensive and the near- est railroad station might be two or three days away from your homestead site. Often the first dwelling was a small dugout carved out of a hillside, so the sod home seemed like an improvement. The sod house could be built quickly Of course, there were drawbacks. Unless and cheaply. The only wood required was you could afford to put tarpaper on the for the door and window frames and the roof, the roof would typically continue roof. If you had enough money, you'd get dripping for two or three days after a good the lumber for these purposes, which was rain. And uninvited guests like bugs, mice still a lot cheaper than building a wood and the occasional snake dropped in now frame house. If you didn't have the money, and then from the ceiling unannounced. your roof and framing would be made out of such trees as you could find along streams. There were other advantages be-

The treeless landscape of western Kansas seemed vast and intimidating to many pioneers on first sight but the rich soil and endless grassland proved produc- tive for both farmer and cattleman. The soil was suitable for crops such as corn, milo and rye; and the native buffalo grass made a hearty meal for cattle. Water, how- ever, was the main source of concern and hard ship. Originally, homes were built near steams and springs where shallow wells could be dug for water. The water from these wells was obtained by dipping an oak bucket attached to a rope and pulley into the well and hauled to the house for the animals. Later, windmill powered wells permitted homes farther from the creek Making a Living beds to have a constant water supply. Some of the Those with good wells shared their wealth with others and in doing so met many folks ways early stopping in to water their horses and stock. settlers Early pioneers also had to be creative in the earned ways in which they provided shelter for money their families. With lumber so hard to while wait- come by, the pioneers built their homes out ing for their of sod. Sod was also used to build schools, churches and barns. first crop to ripen in- cluded col- lecting and many bu!alo and cattle bones that dot- selling the ted the prairie. These were shipped back east and ground into fertilizer.

"We gathered buffalo bones and sold them for a living, as there was nothing else for us to make a living at. When we first came here, there were buffalo bones everywhere you looked, and we could fill our wagon in no time. Father would get up early in the morning and drive to Grinnell, our nearest trading post, 25 miles away, to sell the bones. At first they were only $1 a ton; then as they began to get scarce they kept " going up until they were $18 a ton.” Wild horses in the area were sometimes Mrs. Viola Chelf, Colby KS, Colby rounded up and sold as another source Tribune, 1910 of income. Those who kept a few chick- ens or milk cows could earn money sell- ing any extra eggs and butter. " Alfred and Fred Gould To Stay or to Go These two boys, aged Proving up a claim wasn't as easy 17 and 19 with their as it might have seemed at first. mother, had come from Five years was a long time when Oberlin in a wagon, any given year might bring bringing their house- drought, hail, grasshoppers, or hold goods, their desti- blizzards. Cattle ranged freely nation being their fa- and settlers had to protect their ther’s claim in the crops from them, not to mention western part of the keep them from rubbing against county. On Wednesday the corners of their soddies and morning they left weakening the structure. Colby, arriving at the " Loneliness and the stark residence of J.D. Hughs, twelve miles landscape proved a struggle for west before the storm many who were used to living in commenced. Here they towns and among trees. After decided to stay for the two or three years of this, even night putting up their the hardiest of the pioneers team and eating supper. After supper the boys decided might ask themselves whether to walk to the claim, a distance of four miles, to spend the "free" land was worth the the night with their father, taking with them a lantern. cost. It was a di#cult decision. They went the direction of the claim but the storm being If they left before they proved up so severe, turned them and they went with the storm on their land, they left with less leaving their lantern within a few feet of a deserted sod than they started, having run house. On Friday search parties were sent out, but the through whatever cash they search developed nothing until Sunday at 11 o’clock brought with them. On the other when the bodies were discovered by Sheriff Kingery, hand, if they stayed their five about four miles south of their father’s claim. years and were able to claim A jury was summoned and verdict “Frozen to death” their 160 acres as their own, the was pronounced. The boys were the main support of trying climate meant they might their parents, and it leaves them in hard circumstances, have land but no crop some the father having been an invalid for several years. They years. were known as hard working and honest and the manner of their death, so sudden and they not yet in the prime of life makes one of the saddest of happenings. The re- "Along with the rest of our trou- mains of both were interred in one grave on Monday. ble the grasshoppers came and These boys were buried in the Kingery township ate up everything we had grow- cemetery on what is now the Showalter ranch between ing. They ate the corn blades off Levant and Brewster and N-40 and Rock Island Railroad the stalk and then took the stalk. I have seen them flying in the air and the graves can be seen from both the highway and so thick we couldn't see the sun." the railroad. Viola Chelf, Colby Tribune, From Golden Jubilee, 1935 1910 Rubbing from headstone in Showalter Hills The railroad interest in settlement was to sell " company land and to build up business along their lines. During the 1870s the Union Pa- cific advertised that railroad and homestead land could be obtained in large blocks ena- bling communities to lay out town sites. Lo- cal businessmen and newspaper editors boosted their communities in the most glow- ing terms. Settlers believed that the railroad was the key to economic development. By 1880, Northwest Kansas was the western edge of the frontier. Farmers were home- steading in small groups and communities. Before Colby was established in 1886, Some towns were already well established es- people had to travel to Grinnell, Oakley pecially those along the railway. When the or Oberlin for supplies, usually a two or Missouri Pacific reached Stockton, Kansas in three day journey. 1885, a local farmer recorded in his diary that it was certainly "a grand achievement for the people of this part of Kansas" and ended "By night the family had reached Halfway with a "Whoop La Hurrah." House at Hawkeye where travelers between Oberlin and Colby might find shelter. The Halfway House was located north of Rexford, Kansas, and though the accommodations were rather scant in 1886, it was possible to get a room where one's own bedding could be spread down." Mrs. S. R. Epard, Colby James, Bill: Sod House Pioneers

The coming of the railroad in 1887 was in- strumental in the development of Thomas County. The railroads brought needed sup- plies to the western frontier and aided the settler in getting his products to market. Many towns in western Kansas were depend- ent on the railroads and did not survive after the railroads passed them by. An important " means of transportation in the early days was the stage coach. By 1886 a Colby and Ober- lin Stage Line made a daily eight hour trip Some people ran out of money before loaded with mail, passengers and merchan- they got a decent crop to sell. Others dise. just got tired of the struggle. They moved on, or moved back home. Those who stayed helped create the communi- ties we live in today. The farm population increased greatly during the 1880s. The Oberlin Land Office which opened in 1881 had 6,000 claims filed in the summer of 1885. The greatest expansion of the middle 1880s was in the non-farm sector. Communities sprang up over- night, all with the hope of the railroad passing through their town. Bonds were put up in order to secure them. Speculation in town lots and invest- ments in public and commercial buildings were part of the boom. Otterbourne which was laid by Mary Hay known as Auntie May Hay. She was a doctor and teacher. The town did not survive.

day so that the sod stayed moist. The sod blocks were laid side by side to form the two foot sod walls and then alternated every other or every third layer for stability. Blocks SOD HOUSE were al- ways placed grass side down to allow the builder to level the blocks. Space was left for the door and the win- The sod home at the Prairie Museum of Art dows, with and History was built by volunteers in the win- 1984. It is typical of the one room sod dows usu- homes that was common to the pioneer ally set to family on the Western Kansas prairie in the the outside late 19th Century. of the thick sod walls and the door re- " Out in front of the sod home you will cessed leaving an alcove-type entryway. see a sod cutter. Many of the sled-type Wood was used to build the roof and fin- sod cutters were homemade. The blade ished with a layer of tar paper and sod. ran underneath the sod, cutting a continu- There was no set pattern for building a sod ous strip about a foot wide and four inches house. With such thick walls, the sod thick. An iron instrument was used to cut house was warm in winter and cool in the the sod into 2 foot lengths. The sod was summer and served well as a refuge from cut wet and each block would weigh about raging prairie fires. When it did rain, the 50 pounds. Settlers would only cut the muddy water simply poured through the amount of sod that they could put up each roof, which caused the settlers their great- est discomforts. Of course, bugs, small ro- was a necessity during the bitterly cold dents and occasional snakes were nui- winter. Fueling the stove, however, could sances. Women would often drape muslin have been a problem on the treeless plains. across the ceiling to prevent these crea- Though trees were scarce, bu!alo and cat- tures from falling into food or onto sleep- tle chips were not. The dried chips with ing family mem- their unique heady odor were simply gath- bers. At first ered and burned as fuel. Feather beds many sod homes were brought from the the East but pioneer had dirt floors women soon found that filling the mattress and unfinished with walls. Later prairie wooden floors grasses were added and made a the walls were light plastered. A well weight, built sod home soft and would last 20-50 sweet years but as times smelling got better and the bed. The family could af- piano was a great source of entertainment. ford to purchase Family members and their neighbors spent wood, frame hours around the piano, or other musical homes were built instruments, playing and singing hymns, and eventually the patriotic and popular songs. sod home disap- peared from the prairie. The latch string door and earthy smell, takes you back to pioneer life--in one room. In the corner is the pie safe where fresh baked pies and cakes cooled. The tub under the window was used, not only to wash clothes, but also for bathing. The clothes stomper and

This piano is a true pioneer for it made its was to Thomas County in a covered wagon with Dr. V.C. Eddy in 1887-88 and was do- nated by Amy Stewardson.

scrub board in the tub were the settlers’ only means of cleaning the gritty prairie dirt out of their clothing. A warm stove

The following is a diary "I got a job and rode the given you much Idea about that was written by Ammi range. That summer the town our Country because I Rogers Pattison in 1885. Eva of Colby was laid out. There thought 1 would Wait and see Pattison)Hochstetler, his were lots of wild horses and if I Continued to like it but daughter of San Jose, Calif. antelope. That year we organ- this is such a Beautifull morn- has the original diary, but ized the country and made ing and the Poneys are graz- thoughtful of our history Colby the county seat. Colby ing so quiet that I could not preservation, sent us a copy. was a little place of a few help drawing out my pencil We feel it is a treasure. We with a town pump and and giving you a little Histori- know you will enjoy reading a windmill in the center of the cal sketch of it as I lay here the thoughts of a young man street. Old Doc Edwards, then on this beautifull prairie. And while he was working on the over eighty years old and still feal as Rich as a king athough plains of Kansas, in and near practicing medicine, cast the I am not Rich in gold I am Colby in 1885. (The spelling first vote in the county. Mine Rich with the joy and frea- and phraseology are as he was the sixth. I lived there dom and pride of our Sunny wrote it.) and broke out my claim with Kansas. Although I have had Ammi Rogers Pattison was a yoke of oxen. In the spring verry bad luck in the past 3 born in New York in 1862. In of 1889, I sold my claim." weaks and have had the blues his reminisicing in the winter August 20, 1885 some, I could not retain them of 1922, two years before he Dear parents and brother: long in this moderin Garden died, Mr. Pattison writes that I take this privalage of writing of Eden. My hart is so full of he lived in New York until you a few lines to let you praizes for the beauties of 1880. He spent time working know how I am getting along. this my home this morning in the pineries in Michigan, I am as well as common and that I believe that I could visited relatives in Illinois and hope this will find you the write a good history of it and on to Fairbury Neb. same. The Indians have not if you do not tire of Reading "I did not know all of this killed me yet nor I am not it I will give you a little Dis- time where I was going to drounded by the floods nor cription of it now and maby a stop, but I knew I was going the Cyclones have not blown better one some day. west. I went to Oberlin, Kan- me away but poverty compels I will now give you a little sas, where there was a Gov- me to write to you on my history of our town Colby, ernment Land Office. That Count-book leaves and with a situated at the head of the was my first introduction to lead pencil but maby I will get beautifull Prairie Dog Creek sod houses, dugouts, buckin thare some day so that I can just 3 miles from my Home- broncoes and burning buffalo write oftener and on better stead. The twelvth of March chips for fuel. There was a paper. It is most a Beautiful last when I took my Claim rush for homesteads." morning it is now 8 oclock, thair was no town thair nor "I took a claim in the then the sun is shining Bright and no talk of a town yet nor un- open and unsettled County of thare is not a Cloud' fo be till the 15th of May when they Thomas, a barren, open prai- seen in' the skies. (A page is held a meating for the purpos rie county, with only occa- missing here.) of seeing whare the County sionally a cattle ranch miles Oh how thare Could, be in seat would be, they decided and miles apart, and it was any Other it fills me with joy on that place for it is just in said there was only one native and I am proud of my Coun- the Center of the County. The tree ever grew in the county try and of my home for I feal 20th of May the first building and it had been cut down by that I shall always be Content has started. And today thare cattle men before I came to stay in this Beautifull is 2 large Hotells and too liv- there." Sunny land and make it my ery Barns eather of them as home for life. I never have large as D. C. Crances. One large double Store and 3 gro- Pears and the Prarie was cov- Well I supose that this is cery stores and one single dry ered with its milions of difer- my last day hearding for a goods store, 2 Blacksmiths ent flowers and they were all while for Sunday I am going shops, 2 hardware stores and in blossom you would think down to my Claim to put up Land Offices and dwelling you was eather in the Real my house next weak. I did not houses to numerious to men- Garden of Eden or in James tell you what my bad luck was tion and boasts of 400 inhabi- Vicks flower garden. As an yet but I will now. Just before tance. How is that for a town old man said that came to the Forth of July I bought me of 3 months growth and 20 Oberlin a few days ago he as pretty a little span of Wild miles from a R.R. said does it seam possible mares as you ever saw. They And I am verry thankfull I that nature or the Work of are Red Roans and look so can tell you for getting the Gods hand has done so much near alike that you could not County seat so near to my for this Country in the page tell them apart. I told you Claim for thare is prospects 30 years for he passed about them in my last letter. I of a large City thare. I supose through here 30 years ago go- had not Broke them yet for I that you will say that you ing to California. had not had time. But about would not want to live there I would like to give you the three weaks ago one of them when I tell you that I have not history of this Country North got loose and went away. She seen a train of Cars nor heard Western Kansas that he told went South and I have not a steam whistle of ant kind and that others here know to seen her since and thare is since the 11th of March last be true but you are probily not one chance out of 100000 but that has no afect on me. I tired of reading now or pro- that I ever will again. Al- like it just as well thare is a bily have some thing to do though I lament my loss I am R.R. survayed and staked out that will profit you more and not discouraged yet for I am through our town Colby but I so I will omit it this time for I determined to try again. it is dont know whether it will go do not wish to tire you of my hard to loose anything that through this fall or not. They praises of my beautifull Home way after working and saving are grading one through this time. But it does surprise as I have. Oberlin now that is to be me to here from mouths that October 29 - Well today Done the 15th of Oct. You I cannot Disbelieve of the finds me at noon about 30 will probily wonder at me great Change that this Coun- miles from Oberlin South. I speaking of Oberlin and try has undergone in just 30 am now laying on the prairie Colby as if they wer not far years. letting my horse graze and I apart, when I tell you that Well it is now just 1 oclock thought that I would add a they are 53 mile apart, but we and I have just eat my lunch. I few lines to my little book. I think no more of Driving it or did think that I would not am not fealing verry well to- getting on to horse and going write any more but as the day but I thought that I must from one to the other here poneys are quiet and I have go to my Claim and so I am than you would of going to read all the books and papers going a round about way so Oswego there. You will pro- through that I could get hold as to look for my horse. I am bily wonder at me calling this of since I have bin hearding I going South of Oberlin about a moderin Garden of Eden but thought that I might as well 50 miles till I strike the So- if you were to be blind folded just put my time in today liman River then S.West up and Braught here not know- writing so if you are tired the River about 40 miles then ing where you was going and reading so much you can lay North about 10 miles to my set down here in the month it away and wait till you get Claim. A pretty long ride in a of May or June when the rested or get more time and saddle for a fellow with a cacktus of the several differ- then finish it if you are amind great big boil on his_____for it ent kindes and the Prickley to. just about kills me every step for that. They are capering Expences that the pony takes. around and playing with each The following notations were in Well, about the Country other and I cannot help but the back of the notebooks: around here it is splendid, think what a site it would be just as level as a house floor. to you all to see the thou- April 19 1/2 lb tobacco 25 This is in Sheridan County sands of those little animals 19 1 pair shirts 93 and a nice County it is too. I in such a frolic. But that is 26 1 cigar 5 am now on the Devide be- not all, for just now I spied an May tween the prairie Dog Creek Antilope to add to the beauty 3 2 cigars 10 and the Soliman River. It is of the seen skip by at my 3 peanuts 5 3 1pair of shoes 150 pretty new around here. I back about 40 rods from me. 3 2 lbs maple shug 25 have now rode about 12 miles Thare he has stopped and sits 3 1/2 lb tobacco 25 since I have seen a house. up and looks at me in won- 3 payed for making shirt 50 Well my pony has eat long der. Now he has skipped off 3 1 pair overalls 5 enough I guess for this time again right through the dog 10 6 cigarette 5 and I must get on my Boil and town and you had aught to 13 1/2 lb tobacco 25 13 1 postage stamp 2 go for I must reach the So- see the dogs run and jump in 17 1 pair shoe socks 240 liman tonight and it is pretty their holes. And at my left 17 1 sack tobaco 8 warm, so good by till I meat about a mile is a large heard 17 3 oranges 6 you all again. of cattle and in front of me is 17 candy 2 October 30th, 1885 - Well the sparkling waters of the 17 livery rig 150 17 1lb tobaco 34 here we are again but with an Soliman R. and about tend awful sore for that boil has rods up is a flock of ducks Work for F. Anderson at $20 per swollen dreadfull from yes- and they are enjoying their month terdays ride. It is now biger bath so that they do not seam nor my fist and O how sore it to notis me. Worked 65 days $50 is. It is noon, again and al- I stayed last night at a taken up $13.55 100 though I am about sick I can- house that the mans name not help drawing out my little was Lumis. They are from P Due to me $36.45 book and pencil and giving .A. near Ery and nice folks 100 you a little sketch of the buti- they are too and they have a full seanry around me al- large cattle ranch. I tell you it (signed) Ammi R. Pattison though I feel so sore and lame is luckey for me that I did not that it seams as if could have to camp out last night hardly sit, only I cannot help for we had quite a wind storm but admire the beautifull and it rained awful hard. scenery that surrounds me on Well again I must bid you every side as I sit here letting fare well till some other time my pony graze on the bank of and get on my boil and travel the Soliman River. for I have got about 30 miles At my right is a large Prai- to make this afternoon to get rie Dog town 4 miles one way to Colby. So good by for this and 2 the other and the dogs time but be shure and call Prairie Museum of Art + History are all out barking and mak- again. Thomas County Historical Society ing such a nois that I can 1905 S. Franklin hardly here myself think but Colby, KS 67701 the pretty little things are so 785 460-4590 www.prairiemuseum.org happy this beautifull, sunny day that I cannot blame them