Editing Home on the Range (section)

==History==
[[File:Brewster Higley VI.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Dr. [[Brewster M. Higley]], late 19th century]]
In 1871, Higley moved from [[Indiana]] and acquired land in [[Smith County, Kansas]] under the [[Homestead Act]], living in a small cabin near West Beaver Creek.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/home-on-the-range/17165|title=Kansas Historical Society: Home on the Range|website=Kansas Historical Society}}</ref> Higley was inspired by his surroundings and wrote "My Western Home", which was published in the ''Smith County Pioneer'' (KS) newspaper in 1873<ref name=":5" /> or 1874<ref name="Pluver">{{Cite journal|author=Pulver, Florence|year=1946|title=Re: Home on the Range|journal=The Rotarian|volume=68|issue=2|pages=2&ndash;3, 54}} Dr. Spaeth accepted this later {{harvnb|Spaeth|1948|page=205}}</ref> and republished March 21, 1874 in ''The'' ''Kirwin Chief''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><!--

Newspaper title misspelled ''The "Kirwan" News'' at newspapers.com as of May 3, 2021.

-->  Higley's cabin home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the [[Home on the Range Cabin]].

Daniel E. Kelley (1843–1905), a friend of Higley and member of the Harlan Brothers Orchestra, developed a melody for the song on his guitar.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/home-on-the-range/17165|title=Home on the Range|website=Kansas Historical Society}}</ref> Higley's original lyrics are similar to those of the modern version of the song, but not identical. For instance, the original poem did not contain the words "on the range".<ref name="Pluver" /> Ranchers, cowboys, and other western settlers adopted the song as a rural anthem and it spread throughout the United States in various forms.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Spaeth |first= Sigmund Gottfried|year=1948|title=A History of Popular Music in America|publisher=Random House|location=New York|page=205}}</ref> In 1925, Texas composer [[David W. Guion]] (1892–1981) arranged it as sheet music that was published by [[G. Schirmer, Inc.|G. Schirmer]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/home-on-the-range/17165|title=Kansas Historical Society: Home on the Range History|date=April 2017|website=Kansas Historical Society}}</ref> The song has since gone by a number of names, the most common being "Home on the Range" and "Western Home".<ref name="Silber">{{Cite book|editor=Silber, Irwin|year=1967|title=Songs of the Great American West|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|pages=221–223|oclc=1268417}}</ref> It was officially adopted as the state song of [[Kansas]] on June 30, 1947, and is commonly regarded as the unofficial anthem of the American West.<ref name="Silber" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |author=Harris, Cecilia |date=2014 |title=A Symbolic State: Home on the Range |journal=Kansas! Magazine |volume=2014 |issue=Spring |pages=17&ndash;26, page 19 |url=http://www.regionalmagazines.org/downloads/competition/KANSASmag-2014-ctgy12-PhotoSeries.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812205919/http://www.regionalmagazines.org/downloads/competition/KANSASmag-2014-ctgy12-PhotoSeries.pdf |archive-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=10 August 2014 }}</ref>

On September 27, 1933, [[Bing Crosby]] recorded "Home on the Range" with [[Lennie Hayton]] and his orchestra for [[Brunswick Records]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A Bing Crosby Discography|url=http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/crosby1a.html|website=BING magazine|publisher=International Club Crosby|access-date=April 18, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Whitburn|first1=Joel|title=Pop Memories 1890-1954|date=1986|publisher=Record Research inc|location=Wisconsin|isbn=0-89820-083-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/104 104]|url=https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/104}}</ref> At the time, the origins of "Home on the Range" were obscure and widely debated, although it had been published in 1910 in folklorist [[John Lomax]]'s ''Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads.''<ref name=":6" /> Lomax reported that he had learned the song from a black saloon keeper in Texas who recalled learning it on the [[Chisholm Trail]].<ref name=":3" /> Its popularity led to William and Mary Goodwin filing a suit for copyright infringement in 1934 for $500,000. In 1905 the couple had published "An Arizona Home", similar to "Home on the Range".<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Mecham|first=Kirke|date=November 1949|title=The Story of Home on the Range|url=https://www.kshs.org/publicat/khq/1949/1949november_mechem.pdf|journal=Kansas Historical Quarterly|volume=17|issue=4|pages=313–339|access-date=May 4, 2021}}</ref>  The lawsuit initiated a search for the song's background.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Giddins">{{cite book|last1=Giddins|first1=Gary|title=A Pocketful of Dreams|date=2001|publisher=Little, Brown & Co.|location=New York|isbn=0-316-88188--0|pages=338–339|url=https://archive.org/details/bingcrosbypocket00gidd_0}}</ref>

As it turned out, controversy and even outright plagiarism have followed the song's lyrics since their publication.  On Feb. 26, 1876, the ''Kirwin Chief'' published an article on the front page titled, "'''PLAGIARISM,'''" accusing ''The Stockton'' ''News''<!--

Indexed as ''The Western News'' at newspapers.com as of May 3, 2021.

--> of publishing a nearly identical poem credited to a Mrs. Emma Race of Raceburgh, KS.  The ''Kirwin Chief'', which had published the poem Mar. 26, 1874, reprinted the poem below the article.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=February 26, 1876|title=PLAGIARISM|volume=3|page=1|work=The Kirwin Chief|publisher=W. D. & C F. Jenkins, Proprietors|issue=14|location=KS|editor-last=Jenkins|editor-first=Will D.|url=https://kansashistoricalopencontent.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=19597870&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjM4MTU4NDk0MSwiaWF0IjoxNjIwMDcxMTcyLCJleHAiOjE2MjAxNTc1NzJ9.WZXLr-pyZvVGpnFLdOG-bltTGKNYe0Ke6UjDyIFggfM|access-date=May 3, 2021}}</ref><!--The Kirwin Chief's proprietor's name C F. Jenkins does NOT appear to have a period after the C; one does not appear on this printing or on the March 23, 1876 edition.
--><!--
The Kirwin Chief's proprietor other proprietor, and editor, was W.D. Jenkins. Pletcher (1960) lists W.D. Jenkins as an early owner of the Smith County Pioneer, with Will D. Jenkins, Jr. purchasing the paper in 1874 (p.108).
--> When Samuel Moanfeldt investigated the history of "Home on the Range" on behalf of the [[National Music Publishers' Association|Music Publishers Protection Association]] in response to the Goodwins' 1934 lawsuit, he found another, similar song, "Colorado Home". However, within a few months, Moanfeldt determined Higley had written the poem behind "Home on the Range", and set to music by Kelley. It seemed likely that cowboys on the Chisholm Trail played a role in making the song known throughout several states.<ref name=":3" />