Iron Horse Claim: On the Dakota Frontier

Missouri farmer Lizzy Ward had her fill of the violence that bushwhackers and Confederate deserters brought to her doorstep during the Civil War. When the Homestead Act offered 160 acres of free land far from the battlefields, Lizzy accepted the offer and started a new life in Dakota Territory.

But can she overcome nature's challenges and the corruption of the railroads?

Iron Horse Claim is set in an exciting time in America's history. The railroads are connecting people across the country, from coast to coast. Manufacturing innovations like windmills allow farmers and ranchers to better utilize water. Newspapers in cities and small towns provide an information infrastructure that builds cohesiveness in the country.

Set on the Dakota frontier of the 1870s, Iron Horse Claim is the story of Lizzy Ward, a single mother who is raising an orphaned boy on her farm outside Shady Bluffs in Dakota Territory. In this book, Lizzy and her sister Charlotte have proven their claims -- just like 42% of all women homesteaders did. Charlotte and her family live in Shady Bluffs, where she is the town doctor. Lizzy manages both farms. But she also cultivates relationships. Lizzy believes that people on the frontier need to watch out for each other. Women established schools and churches and nurtured friendships with neighbors.

Lizzy Ward is one of those pioneers who builds community.