What is Homesteading?

I am sure you have heard the term homesteading some time in your life. In the broadest sense of the word it defines someone who took advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862. The Homestead Act extended for more than one hundred years and was repealed in 1976, with a special exemption that was held forth for the state of Alaska until 1986. It is estimated that 10% of the United States was "given away" to her citizens during this time. The true romantic wishes for these days again and curses that they were born a century late.

The term "homesteading" no longer holds the same meaning today that it did... or does it? Some people today view "true" homesteading as taking a piece of land and living completely off of it, not connected to the grid, not relying on anyone or anything but their own ingenuity or determination. Others hold that homesteading is a state of mind. These are both long swings on the pendulum of homesteading with neither being completely right or completely wrong. It is probably trite to say this, but homesteading is different things to different people, and (and this is the hard part to conceive completely for me) it is the same thing too.

In my opinion a "true" homesteader existed before the Homestead Act ever took place. Homesteading is the American Dream realized. With that said, I hope you understand that the American Dream is a common thread that is born in all "true" Americans. And a "true" American is not just someone that is born in America. America is a philosophy not just a place and that is really what homesteading is... a philosophy. A way of life. A choice. Just like America, it is the dream of "making it". And that's my whole thing I guess. I am saying our central philosophy, our maybe better said, the underlying currents in homesteading flows from the same spring deep within us. The only thing different between most of us is the "it" in the philosophy of "making it". We add things to "it" to define "it". We say things like "Making "it" on our own" or "Making "it" big" or "Making it organically". To me, homesteading is about making it and using it. I am seeking a place for my family to touch, and feel, and live, and learn, and see life. I don't want the disconnected life for my kids that this world teaches. I want to break them out of that mold and to know that God has given us the great ability to create, and build, and kill, and nurture and to see what those things are. I don't want them to simulate it in a video game. I want them to understand the somberness of a life and understand that death brings new life. That is the "it" to me.

How I go about "making it" is negotiable. I think that most "true" homesteaders have always been this way. When they began to settle the Great American West, I think they all had different "it"s. Different reasons. And there wasn't ONE way that was the right way. That line of thinking about absolute truth belongs to the realm of God and His word, not the way that we humans do things. I don't think they handed out a "homesteader's manual" and told them to do "it" this way. Some built soddies, some used log cabins, some grew wheat, others formed communities. But it was all negotiable. The whole goal was to "prove up" in 5 years. To show that you were "making it". That is the price the government put on one hundred and sixty acres of American Dream, and it is a price that everyone was willing to pay because it was a commodity that they were rich in. They were born with deep pockets of "proving up" and earned interest on their holdings of "making it".

So with that philosophy I seek to build a modern homestead. A homestead that uses the great wisdom of the past and the wonderful discoveries of the present. A homestead that hopes to build the future; the future in my family and the future of a new hope. The modern homestead will be one that uses computers and programs alongside hard work, sweat and blood. It will use new philosophies and old wisdom to "prove up" with the goal of "making it". I do hope to share our journey with you. I hope to learn a lot on the modern homestead and to discover the past as we seek the future. If your philosophy is to "prove up" and you are interested in "making it", maybe you could join me in the journey for a little conversation. I am green and bendable, but have deep roots. Let's walk together.

The Modern Homesteader