William Shaw Hadfield

William Shaw Hadfield. The First Permanent Settler. , In the late 1800's the South Platte River Valley was a treeless wilderness covered in sagebrush, prairie grass and scrub willows. Great herds of antelope and buffalo roamed the windswept plains. Those continuing further west referred to this barren land as "The Great American Desert"., The westward rush to find gold saw the development of ranches and rest stations along the three trails and Overland Trail Stagecoach route. These pioneers encountered many Indian tribes including the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Sioux. Indian uprisings were all but over and the trappers, settlers, and roughly 5,000 Indians coexisted on the banks of the South Platte River., William "Uncle Billy" Shaw Hadfield (1838-1927), a native Englishman, arrived in Colorado in 1871. He was an accomplished frontiersman, stockman, and friend to all. Hadfield pitched a tent where the Pawnee Creek and South Platte River converged, filed a land claim under the Homestead Act, and thus became the first permanent settler in Logan Count. William build a sod house on his 160 acres, naming his island "Sarinda". The town of old Sterling was about 6 miles to the north., In 1876, Allen Sanders moved his family, including his sister Charity, to the Sterling area. William Hadfield and "Aunt" Charity (1834-1914) married at the Presbyterian Church of Sterling in 1878. Three years later, following the Union Pacific Railroad, Sterling was moved 4 miles south to its present location. Leaving the harsh conditions of country living, William and Charity moved from Sarinda to new Sterling, where they resided for the rest of their years., The Hadfield's were beloved and influential citizens of the small prairie town. Among his civic responsibilities, William served as Postmaster, was on the Board of Commissioners, and was selected as an officer of the Logan County National Bank. To honor the Hadfield's,the area once known as "Sarinda", was officially changed to "Hadfield Island". Uncle Billy and Aunt Charity are buried in Riverside Cemetery on the edge of town., Pat Kennedy, Sculptor Christopher Schiller, Wildlife Sculptor