Simplify the following text for a Grade 10 native English-speaking person.
Original: They were a family of early prominence in the area , in 1848 , when they bought the claim of 320 acres , plotting out 60 acres for the townsite from Hiram Smead for $ 400 and a horse .
Simplified: They were a family of early prominence in the area , in 1848 , when they bought the claim of 320 a , plotting out 60 a for the townsite from Hiram Smead for $ 400 and a horse .