Acquiring Land in Sherman Co.

The area in western Kansas, which was named Sherman County in honor of General Sherman by the State Legislature in 1873, had been surveyed in 1869 with markers indicating the section, township and range which were located at the corner of each quarter of land.  It was these markers that the settlers searched for, looking for them in the virgin buffalo grass, as those markers indicated the legal description of the quarter section of land on which a claim had been filed.  Most settlers filed their claims at the government land office in Oberlin, although some filed at the land office in Wakeeney as they came through that town on the railroad going west into Wallace.   Many settlers filed on a claim for a quarter section of land before they ever arrived in Sherman County with the hope that the maps at the land office gave them enough information as to what the land would be like for an intelligent decision to be made concerning where to make their claim and knowing that any quarter of free land was better than what they had and was the means through which they could provide a better life for themselves and their families.

Ownership of quarter sections of Sherman County land could be acquired in seven ways, as was provided by the Homestead Act of 1862.  This act was amended several times, but requirements that were in effect during the county settlement days between 1882 and 1888 were as follows:

HOMESTEAD - Filing for a homestead required that improvements be made on the land within six months and a residency of five years.   Upon completing all the government requirements, the settler would ‘prove up’ which meant that the settler would receive a Certificate of Homestead signed by the President of the United States granting full ownership of that quarter of land to the settler.

TIMBER CULTURE - Commonly known as a ‘tree claim’.  A quarter of land could be acquired by planting and maintaining trees on at least 10 acres for 10 years (later reduced to 4 years and to less acres).   Usually only one quarter of a section could be claimed as a tree claim.

FINAL RECEIPT - Payment was made in full to the government, at the time of filing, for the quarter of land which resulted in ownership being granted at that time.

C. E. P. (CASH ENTRY PATENT) - Often known as ‘Pre emption’, usually this was a process where a settler paid an amount of money, usually $1.25 per acre, and were required to live on the land for a period of time, usually one to three years.  Quite often an earlier settler had relinquished their claim after making improvements which was often called a ‘relinquishment’.

SCHOOL LAND PATENT - On admission to the Union in 1861, the state of Kansas was granted that Sections 16 and 36 in each Congressional township, which is a six mile square, to be set aside for school purposes.  Income from the sections was to be used for the county schools.  Some of the school land was sold, for as much as $4.00 per acre.  Some people have the mistaken idea that Sections 16 and 36 were where the schools were to be built.  Actually, the rural schools were built where they were needed by the number of children in an area and often moved as the population changed.

PATENT - A patent was an instrument that conveyed a grant on a quarter of land where required irrigation had been established.  In Sherman County, this irrigation requirements were usually met by digging ditches from creeks and rivers.

RAILROAD LAND (this was also designated as a PATENT)- For ten miles on each side of the proposed railroad lines, alternate sections were granted to the railroad lines in order to promote the building and maintenance of the railroads across the unsettled area.  In Sherman County the Union Pacific was granted first ownership of numerous quarters of land in Iowa, McPherson, Smoky, Union and Washington Townships.  Later, when the Union Pacific did not build tracks across the county, the railroad sold this land to individuals.  The settlers that purchased the land from the railroad were the first to make improvements and to live on these quarters of land but are not recognized by the government as the first owners of the land.

Settlers started coming into the area that became Sherman County in the late 1870’s.  The official 1880 United States Census lists the population at a total of 13.  In August of 1885, a county census indicated a total population of 62.   Less than a year later, on June 5, 1886, there were enough settlers that a petition signed by over 400 householders sent a request to Governor John A. Martin that the unorganized county of Sherman be granted organized status.  This request was granted on September 20, 1886 when Governor Martin proclaimed the area to be officially organized as Sherman County.

During the 1880’s there were many settlers.  Those that had filed a homestead claim could begin ‘proving up’ after meeting the five years residency requirement.  The date when ownership was granted sometimes was more than five years after the original filing date.  Often the fact that more than five years had passed was due to the distance required to go to the land office to complete the paperwork, while another reason was practical from a financial perspective as once a settler ‘proved up’ they were obligated to pay taxes.

According to records indicating government recognition as to when ownership was granted to settlers, the following were the first recognized in each category:

Homestead - Lincoln Township NW 22-8-41 to Charles T. Rule and SE 22-8-41 to John E. Rule.  Ownership went to both on 11-24-1886 (Note: John E. Rule was actively involved in the settlement of the county.  He was the first Post Master at Ruleton and helped develop the town of Ruleton.  In July of 1888, he filed the plat for the town of Kanorado.  He was County Treasurer.)

Timber Culture - Llanos Township SE 12-6-37 to John C. Fields on 4-6-1886.

Final Receipt - Smoky Township SW 9-10-40 to Charles Coulter on May 17, 1884 (Note: This was the earliest recorded ownership of a quarter of land.)

C. E. P. - Lincoln Township SE 2-8-41 to William Butler, Sr. on November 14, 1885 (Note: This is the second recorded ownership of a quarter of land.)

School Land - Logan Township SE 36-8-40 to Thomas and Kate Leonard on December 21, 1885 (Note: Third recorded ownership of a quarter of land.   After the Leonard’s had clear title of the quarter of land, they decided to plat a town which was called Leonard or Itasca.  In later years when Mrs. Leonard wrote of they experiences in upon arriving in the area she wrote, “We had taken a ¼ section of school land four miles from this settlement (Gandy) and the law at that time, that one could make settlement on school land for eight weeks, have it appraised and buy it in at the appraised value without living on the land any longer.”)

Patent - Llanos Township NW 28-6-37 to Calvin L. Miller on May 21, 1888

There were some Homesteads where the ‘proving up’ process was completed after 1910, but , in general, the last land that went into individual ownership was school land quarters, some of which were purchased in the 1940’s.

Around fifty quarters of Sherman County land has remained in the ownership of a descendant of the original owner, with some families retaining ownership of more than one quarter because they had more than one set of ancestors which were early settler