John Mahrt Homestead Quarter (NE ¼ Section 20)
This article is part of a series. To find other articles, see Some South Reardan Homesteads.
John Mahrt was granted a homestead on this land in 1889. It appears that he followed his brother Fred out from Wisconsin to Reardan. John came west with his wife Julia Koopman. Anna was born in Washington Territory in 1882 and Charles “Charlie” followed in 1884. Julia died in 1891 and is buried in her native Wisconsin. John hired a housekeeper Ulricka “Ricka” Doering to look after the children, as he tended the fields and livestock. He married Ulricka in 1892 and they had one son, Otto.
John’s lasting legacy is that he was able to build up his land holdings over time. Many of the properties in this collection of stories were purchased by John and most have been retained by his descendents.
This article is part of a series. To find other articles, see Some South Reardan Homesteads.