Yuma County CO Archives Biographies.....HIGGINS, Harry Franklin  March 12, 1884 - February 11, 1969
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Deb Schorzman debschorz@CenturyTel.net September 5, 2007, 4:19 pm

Published in "A History of West Yuma County", ©1985 Yuma Centennial Book
Committee, Yuma, Colorado
Author: unknown

Harry and Anna HIGGINS came by train from Iowa in 1909 and homesteaded 10 
miles south of Yuma near what became known as Abarr.  Harry came first and 
started the home.  Anna and two children, Gracie, age four and a half and 
Agnes, age two and a half years, came later.

The house was only a shell, no windows, and only a tarp for a door.  There was 
no well on the homestead so they hauled water from John NEIFERT's place, which 
was seven miles north.  The neighbor who lived a half mile south was unwilling 
to share water from his well.  He was a rancher who ran his cattle on the free 
range and did not want the homesteaders around.

Harry finished his own house and had a well drilled; then helped other men who 
came to homestead.  Most of them knew nothing about masonry or carpentry so 
they hired Harry to run foundations and build their houses.

By the time two years had passed, everyone saw the need for a school for the 
many children.  The men got together and built a small building in Harry's 
pasture.  Each parent furnsihed a desk for his child; the desks were wooden 
cracker boxes; or even a part of a bedstead.  This was known as 
a 'subscription school'.  The men hired a teacher.  Each parent paid accordig 
to how many children he had in school.  This did not work very well because it 
was too expensive for people with large families.  The schoolhouse became too 
small, books were lacking or nonexistent.  The next fall, the parents demanded 
and got a public school.  A large building was moved in from Clarksville and 
this became District 49.

Homesteaders had to pay a small fee to "prove up" after living on their 
homesteads for three years.  Harry and Anna lived on their homestead 
and "proved up".

During early years, they produced their own pork, beef, chickens, eggs, milk 
and butter.  In the summer, many kinds of vegetables were salted down, dried, 
pickled and preserved in the fall, dried fruit was bought by the lug.

Many homesteaders became discouraged and sold out.  But not Harry and Anna!  
They bought more land.  Ann, who lived until 1975 owned over 800 acres when 
she passed away.  This included the original homestead.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/yuma/bios/higgins491gbs.txt

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