It was twenty-four by twenty-six feet inside, and the walls were thirty inches thick. It had three windows and a door. The door was made of plank, and the windows had shutters made of plank, which were hauled from a sawmill located in the Laramie mountains. This was the same mill that supplied much of the material used in the buildings at Fort Laramie. The floor and roof board were double, and on the roof was placed several inches of dirt.

Four port-holes were in the walls, one on each of the four sides, made in the manner of an hour glass placed in a horizontal position, to give a wide range of territory in case of an Indian attack. We have no record that it was ever attacked. The Red Cloud agency was then on the spot where the Lower PF now stands, but it was moved fifty miles or more to the north in 1876.

In this soddy there was a post-office established, the first in Scotts Bluff county territory, and William Lancaster was the first postmaster. It was called "Little Moon," after a noted Indian chief. When the post-office was established, the soddy was enlarged to make room for it, although it did not take much room. It must have been abandoned about 1874, for Lancaster resigned and returned to the eastern part of the state, and went into the drug business.

The house faced the southeast. In addition Mr. Sparks had about two acres, enclosed by a sod wall, three feet thick and five feet high. He also fenced a meadow of about one hundred and sixty acres, and some of the posts are still in use after nearly fifty years. This ranch was sold to W. C. Lane and Thomas Sturgis in 1876. Mr. Sparks moved to Nevada, where he later became governor.