A foreman for the Illinois Central railroad, Starling Gray had traveled from Iowa to Kit Carson with the hopes of acquiring a farm in southeast Colorado. He was eventually able to lay claim to a relinquished 160-acre logging claim and an adjacent unclaimed parcel. Starling, his wife Essie, and two small children moved from Iowa to their new home in Colorado in the spring of 1910, bringing with them cows, mules, chickens, chicken coops, seeds for planting, furniture, and farm machinery. Five years later, Gray received title to their 317-acre farm. The Grays grew corn and milo, raised cattle, and maintained a large kitchen garden. Essie raised chickens and sold eggs and fresh cream. According to Starling and Essie’s daughter Ada, the principles of economy and ecology were strictly practiced and nothing was ever thrown away. Water was a precious commodity and recycled whenever possible. In 1950, Starling and Essie’s youngest child, Benjamin Gray, acquired the homestead from his parents, which he converted to cattle grazing in the late 1950s and leased additional land. In 1966 Ben and his wife Georgena expanded the family’s holdings, growing the farm to over 1900 acres and supporting their family of five daughters. After Ben’s death in 1997, the lands adjoining the original homestead were leased, but the family continues to produce corn, milo, and wheat and provide grazing for cattle on the original homestead.