Whitneys Homesteaded 12
  In 1883 Mr. and Mrs. James Whitney took a homestead 12 miles south of Farnam near the Uhlig farm. Their children, Laura, Vincent, Mrs. Mary Taylor and son, Arthur and John Whitney and family came with them. They lived in a tent and their covered wagon. There was no railroad here at that time.
Mrs. Mary Taylor sends some reminiscences: "I remember some of the hardships we went through on the pre-emption about twelve miles south of Farnam is now. Pa had to haul water for our use and for the cow and horses about two miles."
"We nearly blew away in a storm soon after we got there. We were living in a tent, and put Vincent and Arthur in their high chairs in the middle of the tent, when the wind begin to blow, to keep them from running outside. As there was danger of the tent blowing down Pa took Vincent who was three years old and the young man (Hiddleson) who was digging the well took Arthur, who was two and a half years old, then the tent went down. The
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cupboard of dishes, pans of milk and everything went to the ground. It was almost a cyclone – thunder and lightning and such a down pour of rain. All the shelter we had was the wagon top which was staked down to the ground. After the storm was over, as it was nearly dark, we all walked, I think, about a mile to the nearest neighbors, put on dry clothes and they kept us for the night. The wind turned the wagon over in which were three barrels of water. The heavy well buckets and many things were found in a canyon about a half mile away. Johnie's place was near, a mile away and they fared about the same.
"Well that fall I believe in December I and Arthur went back with Johnies family to Humboldt. He loaded us in the big wagon and drove us to Arapahoe, thirty miles away on a very cold day."
"The next spring the folks moved back to Humboldt. I think it was after the railroad was put through and Farnam started. They went back to Frontier county on a timber claim."
"This timber claim is where Arch Jorgensen now lives. The trees had to be set out and cared for. Here they lived in a sod house through the hard times of the '90's and saw Farnam built up after the railroad went through."
1886
1936
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