Warrick Ranches
West Place
After being granted a patent Theodor Shafer planted at tree claim on the southeast quarter of Section 28 in Madison County.
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He and his wife had six children, five whom died at a young age and are buried in the McCoy Cemetery directly south of the homestead.
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His oldest daughter Grace married J.W. Warrick and they had 4 children, 3 girls and one boy, my father. They all lived in a house he and Grace built in 1903 in Meadow Grove
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The Shafers left Nebraska in 1898 and sold the land to their son-in- law J.W. Warrick, who then proceeded to build a new house at the West Place around 1900. It still stands.
My grandfather J.W. Warrick always had a hired man and his family living at the West Place or rented it. I would visit there and play if they had boys, exploring with them during the summer. My grandfather Warrick built many fine buildings at the West Place, especially a huge horse barn with a large hay loft. This barn collapsed in a windstorm in 1959. We also went fishing and swimming in "Dry Creek", which usually had water flowing in it except during a drought.
The Shafer homestead was to the west of this house, along the creek, called Dry Creek. The house was built in 1900 by son-in-law J.W. Warrick Sr. after the Shafers left for Oregon..
Tree claim planted in the 1870's
The West Place was patented by Theodor Shafer in 1869.
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West property farm buildings & house with tree claim to the left of the house. Shelter belts west of the house planted in the 1960's. The house and feed yards were very exposed to the north winds in winter. They are now protected.
The 1880 barn was converted to a hog feeding facility in the 1970s, after significant renovation. It was a well built barn with a solid frame, shaped beams, square nails and a wooden shingle roof. It has withstood Nebraska's strongest winds and blizzards and is used as cattle sorting pen and calving barn.
Original homestead looking West, with the tree claim in the background and shelterbelts to protect the home and livestock.
West Place home, built 1900s by J. W. Warrick Jr.
Original homestead, looking east toward the house. In the background are some of the Eastern Red Cedar trees I planted over the years. They have provided valuable protection for the West Place during the winter months
Shafer memorial to the children who died in the 1870s from diphtheria. To the right are more Shafer stones, but they are hard to read.
The Warrick family headstone of 10 family members buried in the McCoy Cemetery, across the road from the homestead. Look carefully and you can make out the two stones in the foreground. They are Robert & Gudrun's future memorials.
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