Henry Dannheim

Henry enlisted in Feb. 1864 in the company for Mason County, Pr. No. l., 2nd Frontier District, TST.

In 1870, Henry received 160 acres of his own from survey #756, Fisher/Miller. In 1876, he sold this for $1000. Then in 1877, he bought a half interest in survey 123 for $400, and in 1880, he bought a half interest in the adjoining survey #392 for $160. The family story today in Mason is that he took over the Dannheim homestead on Upper Willow Creek. He may have, but later he moved to his own survey land, and the original homestead stayed in his sister, Wilhelmina's, line, the Donops and Jordans.

Henry and his wife, Mina, built a two-story, handworked, stone home which was later flooded by Willow Creek. After the flood, the house was moved, stone by stone, to a higher location where it now stands on part of the grant owned by Walter Dannheim, son of Hugo, the youngest son of Henry. We saw the remains of this house on our visit there. This is in the area of Little Willow Creek, as opposed to Upper Willow Creek where the first family homesite was.

The surveys 123 and 392 are still in family hands and are marked with a plaque as being in the family for over one hundred years. Henry and his first wife, Mina, are buried on this land.

In 1876, Henry and Mina had also purchased a townlot, #13, in the town of Mason for $1250. This property came with a house and barn on it already.

In April, 1997 we went out to the Dannheim Ranch with Alice Dannheim and her son, Larry, to meet Ruth Dannheim, the present owner, widow of Walter Dannheim. (Going east out of Mason on 29 for a short distance, take a left tum on Old Pontotoc Rd.) Also there at the time was Ruth's daughter, Deanna and her second husband, Don. Don is working on the ranch now on the weekends to provide needed upgrades and improvements, with the intention of he and Deanna moving out there in the future.