Endorsements & Reviews

Here’s what leading Arizonans and authors have to say about One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt.

Foreword by Marshall Trimble, Arizona State Historian . . .

Marsha Arzberger’s stories tell of the original fifteen families, who, in 1909, packed their belongings and left their homes in Kansas to travel by train, a thousand miles to the remote southeastern part of the Arizona Territory. With nothing to sustain them but hope, they named their new community, Kansas Settlement.

Kansas Settlement takes us back to those pioneer days of homesteading in the Sulphur Springs Valley, or as some called it, The Suffering Springs Valley. The land, a hundred and sixty acres, was free for those hardy enough to plant roots and remain. It was a time when neighbors pitched in to help dig a well, brand cattle or build a barn. In spite of the daily hardships working the land they still found time to attend dances, churches and socialize.

The settlers in Arzberger’s stories are hard-working, industrious and resourceful folks who built churches, schools, raised and educated their children.

These vignettes were found in old journals and scrapbooks they left behind with their descendants, many of whom still live in the area. They take us through years of struggle, economic depression heartbreak and drought.

Not all of them remained but those who did were able to realize their dream and leave behind a proud legacy.

One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt is the story of pioneers at the turn of the last century who made their way from Kansas to the Sulphur Springs Valley in Southern Arizona. Fourteen families arrived by train with all their possessions, to a land that was free to homesteaders. Owning their own land was their dream. But they had to work the land and make it prosperous to gain full title. So they staked their claims each on a quarter section of the land, one hundred and sixty acres, thus the title of this fascinating book.
Marsha Arzberger’s stories revealed the hardships and struggles and hopes of the families as they cultivated the land.
Ms. Arzberger writes in vignettes, short stories that reveal the tenacity and unbounded optimism that characterize the settlers in a forbidding land. Amazingly, many made it and succeeded in making their claim to the free land.
For anyone interested in the history of Southern Arizona, One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt is a must-read because it is rich storytelling at its best. It follows the history of these families through several generations up until the present day.
One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt is a good read and I highly recommend it to you.

One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt is a charming book that speaks strongly and truly about life in early Arizona. Anyone who has spent time on a hard-scrabble ranch recognizes the stories and events that are so well told in this book. Marsha Arzberger has done a masterful job of portraying and preserving this slice of western history.
H. Alan Day is a retired rancher and author of Lazy B and Cowboy Up! He co-authored with his sister, Sandra Day O’Connor, Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest.

“The stories of these early homesteaders in the Kansas Settlement are important to the overall history of northern Cochise County. Many of them have descendants still in the area that continue to contribute to our economy. The original homesteaders’ stories live on through them.”