Joseph Hahn (1853-1913) came to Dakota Territory in 1882 to file a homestead claim. The railroad ran as far as Watertown, but the free land was in Spink County, 60 mile farther west. He drew several numbers for land and went to Doland, chose his quarter of land, and then returned to Watertown to file his claim and pay his $14. In Watertown he bought lumber, hauled it to Spring Township and put up an 18' x 28', one and one-half story house (no partitions or plaster, just a chimney) and a barn about the same size. This was necessary so someone else didn't jump his claim. Then he returned to Gilman, Illinois, for his family.

In March, Joseph loaded stock, machinery, wagons, feed, provisions, and furniture into a freight car. He and his brother-in-law, John Schultz, rode in the freight car to unload, feed, and water the animals. His wife, Friedericka (1853-1924), three daughters, and his mother-in-law took the passenger train to Doland. The railroad was now completed to Redfield. The women had to wait over two weeks for the freight train to arrive.

Doland wasn't much of a town, just a shack for a depot, a store 18' x 30' and several small houses. There was no hotel. The five women stayed in one bedroom at the Kelleys and helped with the work. Mr. Kelley was the section boss. Their house was small--one large room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and an attic. Fifteen people stayed in this house at one time.

When the freight train finally arrived, the men set up the wagons, loaded the furniture, hitched on the horses, tied the cows to the back of the wagons, loaded the family in, and headed eastward. There were no roads or fences. They could see their buildings from town, 3 1/2 miles away, but it took a long time to get there. They put the cows in the barn, unloaded the furniture and set up the stove and beds. There was no well. They had to bring water from the Kelleys' well in town.

The first thing the Hahns did was dig a well. They found good water 6 feet down, but it was a long way from the house. The men put up buildings on John Schultz's claim for him and his mother, one mile east of Joseph's. The house was a one-room shanty--a bed at each end, and they cooked and ate in the center.

The Hahns broke ground and planted corn, oats, and potatoes, but the crop was just fair. There was plenty of buffalo grass for hay and pasture. Joseph then partitioned his house into three rooms and plastered the two bedrooms because of the cold winters. He did nothing to the upstairs, and the snow sifted in and had to be shoveled out. Whenever new settlers went east or northeast from Doland, they always stayed at the Hahn until their buildings were put up.

Three months after Joseph came to Spring Township, Doland had 40 buildings, and the land was valued at $700 to $1400 a quarter. A year later, D.P. Fargo contracted to build 6 schools in the district, one of them was 1-3/4 miles from the Hahn farm. Emma and Minnie Hahn enrolled in this school. They were the only pupils who had not gone to school before, and they did not speak English very well. It was a cold winter, and they missed many days of school. The term was short because the children were needed at home to help with the work. All the Hahn children received at least 8th grade education. In the summertime, church services and Sunday school were held in this school house. When services were discontinued, Emma and Minnie would sometimes walk to Doland to attend the Methodist Church services. Joseph and his family attended the Lutheran Church in Raymond when the minister came from Watertown. This was about once a month.

Prairie fires were a constant threat to the early settlers. Often the sparks from the railroad engines would ignite the buffalo grass, and strong winds would drive the fire for miles.

Hailstorms were also frequent. One year, all the windows on the north and west sides of the house were broken, and the house flooded from the rain which followed. The family took to the cellar. The large hailstones killed some stock. Another time after the grain was headed out, a terrible hailstorm pounded it all into the ground--even the potatoes were ruined. And another time they started harvesting at noon, at four o'clock a terrible hailstorm came and took the rest of the grain and broke the windows in the house again. There were no screens in those days, just cheesecloth.

1888 was the year of the "Big Blizzard." January 11, the Hahn children went to school as usual, but it turned very cold. The teacher, Mr. Cook, would not let the children go home. They went to the McIntyres and Rycknans near the school. Then the teacher walked to his place, 2 1/2 miles away, against that cold wind and came back the next day to teach. Joseph and his brother had gone to town for coal. They got home late, did their chores, and then hitched a team on a stoneboat and went after their children, but the McIntyres thought the children should stay. While the children were in class the next forenoon, the blizzard struck. It blew the door open, and it was all they could do to get it shut and barred. The wind blew all day. They had plenty of fuel, but no food. It was dark, and there was no place to lie down. There was a big drum stove in the schoolhouse which gave them some light, and they played games. At daybreak the storm let up and the weather turned very cold. At ten o'clock the children went to McIntryes, a quarter of mile, for breakfast, but the teacher walked home again. Mrs. McIntyre make pancakes for that hungry bunch. Joseph and his brother came for their children at noon. They had put a big box on the stoneboat with plenty of hay and blankets. Since the storm didn't hit 'til ten o'clock, most of the farmers had cared for their stock, but many people and animals froze to death in the storm.

The Hahns had so much grass going to waste, that Joseph decided to take cattle to hard for the summer. He would charge per head, and the children would herd them. They all had to pump water for the cattle. He herded several hundred head for 3 or 4 years. Then he started herding sheep. There was usually a thousand or more in a herd. Each farmer would mark his sheep with paint. The farmers brought their sheep in May and took them home in September. The Hahns always had a good sheep dog. In June and July, sheep shearers would come and shear the whole flock.

Farming was entirely different a hundred years ago. Corn was never a good crop, but Joseph tried to raise some for the pigs. He had an old corn planter--it had a box on each side in the front of the planter to put the seed corn in. The children would sit on the front of the planter and pull a lever back and forth in time with the horses' steps. When the lever was pulled, it opened holes to let about three kernels of corn fall out for one hill of corn. The corn that had now ears was chopped down and fed to the pigs. When the ears were ripe, the children would husk them by hand, throw them in piles, and later the men would pick the ears up in a wagon. Hay was stacked by hand and the haymow filled with loose hay. Then the grain could be threshed, Hanson and Nelson owned the only threshing machine in the whole neighborhood. The farmers helped each other with labor and machinery.

Joseph and Rika Hahn had eleven children who grew to maturity: Emma (Mrs. Ralph Schaeffer), Minnie (Mrs. Andrew Anderson), Friedericka (Mrs. Wm. Frey), Henry, John, Frank, Mary (Mrs. Leslie Mannings), Frederick (Fritz), Ernest, Edith (Mrs. Don Cole), and Martha (Mrs. Milton Loomis). They came to Spink County when this country was one great, uncivilized prairie. They braved the hardships and toils of the early pioneer life, and developed from the virgin soil, a very productive farm.

By Mrs. Emma Schaeffer and Mrs. Letitia Stormo