Journal 4: From Battlefield to Backwoods: Homesteader John L. Powell

The wind tugged at John Powell’s coat as he surveyed the land just north of Cuchara. It wasn’t much, just forest, rock, and possibility. But to a Civil War veteran with nothing but grit and a government promise, it looked like the future. 

Homestead Act of 1862

Powell’s new beginning started with a bold idea, the Homestead Act of 1862. This historic initiative was designed to spark westward expansion by offering 160 acres of land to anyone willing to build a life on the American frontier. To earn ownership, settlers had to:

John L. Powell

• Live on the land for at least five years.

• Build a proper home with an enclosed roof, at least one door,   

        and one or more windows.

• Cultivate part of the land.

• Show proof of their efforts after five years.(1)

In return, they received a land patent, a legal deed to call it their own. One such homesteader was John L. Powell, who in 1905, during President Theodore Roosevelt’s time in office, was granted the land that would one day become Pinehaven.(2) 

John L. Powell: Union Civil War Veteran

John Lloyd Powell was born in Pennsylvania on April 23, 1834, and married Elmina Ellen Paget on December 16, 1860, in Clay, Missouri. They were the parents of seven children, six sons and one daughter.(3)  John and his family moved to Kansas, where he was among the early volunteers to join the Union Army’s Company A, 8th Kansas Infantry.(4)  The 8th Kansas Infantry served in the Western Theater. It was known for enduring rough conditions, extensive marching, and engaging in combat and occupation duties across several southern states.(5) 

After the war, Powell relocated to the Cuchara Valley by covered wagon in 1896.(6)  While specific details about his reasons for moving to La Veta are not documented, it was common for Civil War veterans to relocate westward after the war. La Veta, established in the 1870s, offered several agriculture, ranching, and mining opportunities, attracting many settlers seeking new beginnings. The town’s development and the availability of land likely influenced Powell’s decision to make it his home. John took advantage of the Homestead Act and received a grant in 1905 for the land that is now Pinehaven, located approximately 1.5 miles north from the center of the Cuchara Village on Highway 12.

Volunteering for military service so early in the war may indicate that Powell was a brave man with strong convictions. He died on April 11, 1920 in La Veta at the age of 85, and was buried in a La Veta Cemetery.(7)  

Powell’s Heirs

After John L. Powell passed away in 1920, his children inherited the land. Though they did a bit of logging, the land remained mostly untouched. In 1922, the siblings deeded their interest in the land solely to Charles R. Powell. Charles was also the grandfather of local resident Dick Jameson, who was associated with the family that owned the adjacent Yellow Pine Ranch. 

Years later, in 1943, Charles R. Powell, son of John L. Powell, sold the land to John C. Vories for $1,500. Vories made a $200 down payment, with the rest to be paid gradually, along with a share of profits from any future timber harvests. By 1948, the land was officially his.(8)

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Footnotes

Parenthetical numbers in the text (e.g., 5) correspond to the sequentially numbered citations listed below.

1. Homestead Act of 1862, Public Law 37-64, U.S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 12, p. 392 [Available via U.S. National Archives or Library of Congress]

2. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, “General Land Office Records,” https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=CO1430__.013&docClass=STA&sid=ph2ttvsp.eb3#patentDetailsTabIndex=1. 

3. “John Lloyd Powell," FamilySearch, accessed June 7, 2025, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L7QN-DLR/john-lloyd-powell-1834-1920. 

4. “Kansas Memory: Civil War Roster, John L. Powell,” Kansas Historical Society, accessed July 31, 2025, Kansas Memory, Kansas Histor­ical Society, https://www.kansashistory.gov/kmi/search/search/surname:Powell/fname:John/…/submit:SEARCH. and Gravestone of John Lloyd Powell, Colorado Gravestones, accessed June 7, 2025, https://coloradogravestones.org/view.php?id=1307.

5. "8th Kansas Infantry Regiment," Wikipedia, accessed June 7, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_Kansas_Infantry_Regiment.

6. Hazel E. Cross and Josephine C. Jochem, River of Friendship (Chicago: Adams Press, 1970), page 13.

7. “John Lloyd Powell," Family Search, accessed June 7, 2025, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L7QN-DLR/john-lloyd-powell-1834-1920. 

8. Author’s note: In preparing this article, the author used AI-assisted tools for research support, proofreading, fact-checking, and stylistic refinement. The narrative, analysis, and historical interpretations are the author’s own, and responsibility for accuracy rests solely with the author. The blog’s research methodology statement is available at:

https://cabininthepinescuchara.blogspot.com/2019/03/methodology-sources-and-use-of-research.html