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Clay Creek: By George Chatham
By George Chatham First of all my apologies to the “Wondering, Banished, Exiled, and Lost Souls of Baca County, Colorado” (Facebook)group since most of this post took place across the county line in Powers County. I spoke of the “Clay Creek” place in the previous post. The “Clay Creek” place Fred & Ethel Chatham moved…
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Granddad’s Adobe House: by George Chatham
By George Chatham Since lumber wasn’t readily available to the homesteaders, most homes were made of sod or adobe blocks. Sod was created by using a knife sled apparatus pulled behind a horse or team of horses which cut about an 18” wide by 3” or 4” thick slab of buffalo grass sod. Uncle Elder’s…
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The Dust Bowl Days: by George Chatham
The Dust Bowl Days: by George Chatham As I shared in an earlier post the Elmer & Lela Chatham family left Baca County and moved to Power’s county sometime in the mid 1920’s. My grandparents (Fred and Ethel Chatham) moved from the “dug-out” on Fred’s homestead to Elmer Chatham’s homestead March 13, 1924. The reason…
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“Hand Dug Wells” by George Chatham
By George Chatham In the area where my granddad Chatham and Great Uncle Elmer homesteaded there were no live springs or natural water holes to obtain water for household use or for the livestock to drink. So it meant that one of the first priorities of homesteading was digging a well. The two homestead wells…
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FAMILY WELL DISPUTE: by George Chatham
By George Chatham After my grandparents, Fred and Ethel Chatham, were married April 14, 1914, there was a “dug-out” build on Fred’s homestead; but exactly when it was built is in question. Apparently there was a well dispute and the couple lived for a time with her Father, Daniel Chenoweth, who was a widower. According…
