In 1854 Bement was just a few stakes in the ground, and the prairie remained unspoiled. Wind, Bodman, and Little headed east to Danville in hopes of purchasing the land that they had staked out. They found the Federal Land Office at Danville when the office reopened in the spring.
In March 1854, the Three Horsemen, along with Joseph’s brothers, Samuel and Luther, and fellow townsmen Elnathan Graves, traveled to the Danville Land Office and signed up for the land they had staked out the previous Christmas day. Samuel, Luther, and Lewis Bodman purchased other nearby lands.