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Show NPS Form 10-900a (Rev. 8/86) 0MB No. 1024-0018 NPS/CHS Word Processor Format (Approved 03/88) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Section number __8_ Page __4_ group included some well-to-do families for the times, with doctors and lawyers among the contingent, their efforts were mostly unsuccessful. Virtually the entire group returned to Nebraska before living on the parcels of land for the five years required for Homestead. Thus the date 1913 by which Charles Simmons had lived on the land long enough to fulfill the requirements for the full patent provision of Homestead, represented the approximate time that the Nebraska group was abandoning such ultimate prospect. 12 When Charles Simmons filed for his final Homestead in February, 1913, he listed himself as single, 31 years of age. By the time the officials in Washington approved the application in June, 1913, they issued the final patent to Charles and Hanna Simmons. This is a further testament to the success of Charles Simmons development of the ranch. The Simmonses went so far as to acquire additional adjacent lands under the Act of Congress of 1820 which allowed outright purchases (instead of the five year occupancy for Homestead). They filed for these purchases in 1917 but the Land Office did not issue their final patents until 1921, possibly because of the restrictions of release of former tribal reservation lands. The fact that the Simmonses had enough capital to make a land purchase, and chose to do so on adjacent lands, is further evidence of success. 13 Yet another suggestion of the success of the original Homesteader appears in his original patent application of 1913. In addition to the inventory of improvements noted in Sect. 7, Charles Simmons also presented a list of crops and acreages that he had cultivated over the years immediately prior to his final application. 14 It should be noted that his application was for a total of 160 acres of land, considerably more than the area immediately around his cabins. He grew the following crops on the acreages noted, which totalled 25 ac. cleared and ready by 1912: |
