El Dean Holthus’s aunt and uncle, Ellen and Pete Rust, owned the property with the Home on the Range Cabin when it was a chicken coop.
– COURTESY EL DEAN HOLTHUS/PEOPLE’S HEARTLAND FOUNDATION –
Dr. Brewster M. Higley had some troubles when he homesteaded in north-central Kansas in 1872. There was “a little problem with the bottle,” and he’d already gone through four wives. But he had no trouble voicing the nirvana he found on his farm along West Beaver Creek in Smith County.
As he sat on the bank one day, he penned a poem titled “My Western Home” to mark his contentment: “Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam…”
It’s a safe bet that every reader can finish that poem, these 148 years later, as it’s embedded in American Western folklore—and has been named one of the top 100 Western songs of all time.
There’s no better place to sing the song than the oneroom cabin that Dr. Higley and his friends built shortly after the poem was penned.
This story is from the November 2020 edition of True West.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2020 edition of True West.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
WESTERN ART MUSEUMS OF THE YEAR
Visionary museums from coast to coast showcase the West's best artists and artwork.
DISCOVER THE WEST
Museums from coast to coast celebrate our Western heritage for all generations.
Amber Waves of Grain and Flowers
Kansas is still the breadbasket of America.
In Search of Hugh Glass
Travel the Rocky Mountain West to discover the truth about the legendary mountain man.
SPUR TALK
The day Bill McDonald rode over the hill leading the Appaloosa, Slim and I were repairing the corrals. Slim was running Pete Coleman's little ranch about three miles south of Cow Springs, New Mexico. I was just a snotty-nosed, freckle-faced kid at the time.
THE LEGENDARY FOUR SIXES
The ranch was founded 155 years ago by men and women who are as mythical as they are real.
YELLOWSTONE COWBOYS
THE REAL STORY OF TEDDY BLUE AND HOW HE BECAME MONTANA'S GREATEST COWBOY
Under Western Skies
The annual Scottsdale Art Auction was a tour de force of classic and contemporary art of the West.
If You Thought Dude Ranching Days Were Over....
Montana's original wants to set you straight.
The Indians and the Jesuit
Father de Smet built the first permanent settlement in Montana.