In 1871, Higley moved from Indiana to Smith County, Kansas. He did this because of the Homestead Act. He lived in a small cabin near West Beaver Creek. He was inspired by his new environment that he decided to create a poem to praise the prairie. The lyrics to "Home on the Range" were first published as a poem in the "Smith County Pioneer" in 1872 under the title "My Western Home". That home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Home on the Range Cabin.