Arriving in Jacksonville in the fall of 1852 from Iowa, Lewis and his father Jesse spent a year chasing gold, defending the Applegate Trail, then returning to farming. The Land Donation Act offered land known as Emigrant Lake.
There was little water for irrigation, so farming was difficult and livestock much more profitable. Each summer the Hiatt's ran their cattle on a narrow meadow in the mountains to the northeast. They were some of the earliest settlers in the area, so the grassy meadow was soon known as Hiatt Prairie.

Lewis received a Military Warrant from President Abraham Lincoln for military service on November 11, 1861 (Hugo Patent).

For over fifty years after the Hiatt's left for California in 1869, thousands of cattle continued to graze over Hiatt Prairie. Then, in 1917, State engineers looking to bring irrigation to the lower Bear Creek Valley, suggested a dam across Keene Creek, which would create a reservoir of 7,000 acres of water.
The Hiatt Prairie Dam was completed in 1922 and the reservoir filled the following year. By then, the name had changed to Hyatt and the Prairie had disappeared under the waters of Hyatt Lake.
The Hiatt's never knew of the lake that now covers their prairie.
Lewis was married twice. First Lydia Ann Jaquette who died on the Oregon Trail and second, her younger sister, Catharine Jaquette.
Lewis came to Oregon to find gold. His daughter by Lydia was Ellen Elizabeth who married John Trucks Fulkerson. Ellen wrote a book (Klamath Echos) about their experiences in the vast Oregon wilderness.
Lewis and Catharine had five children:
Elizabeth J. 1/15/1856 - 12/15/1896
Arilla R. 8/1859 - 2/20/1927
Jessie W. 6/20/1862 - 7/18/1927
Sara May 3/20/1867 - 12/10/1934
Roseanna Mary 1872 - 1/1/1954