The bell was originally installed in 1908 in the first Central School. When the school was razed in 1950 to build the current Central School building, Carl H. Bjorkman of Topeka took the bell. The bell, dedicated to “all the children, present and future, of Sherman County,” was returned by Mr. Bjorkman to Goodland in 1958. “They Came to Stay!” was designed by former Goodland resident Greg Todd at the request of a committee for the Centennial of Sherman County in 1987. Todd chose the pose to demonstrate the early pioneer spirit: he, with a clump of sod in his hand, and she, with her hands on his shoulder and the plow, showed that together they made this place home with hard work and love. A time capsule was placed in the statue to be opened in 2087.