Friday, May 18, 2007
A Short Note From Michael
Author decides to homestead in Alaska and shares her experiences.
Of mud, bears, and freeland in Alaska
Under the provisions of Alaska's homesite program, a state resident can acquire title to five acres of rural land by "proving up" on the parcel—a process that involves residing on the property for a total of 35 months, building a house, and reimbursing the state for the cost of surveying the lot. Applicants are allowed five years in which to build their cabins, and seven years to satisfy the living requirements.It was March of 1982 when my husband, Ron, and I decided to take advantage of that seemingly generous offer. We've learned a lot since then, and because homesteading on "free" Alaska land has long been one of the Great American Dreams, I thought you might enjoy hearing about how that dream turned out for us.Our decision to accept the strenuous challenge of the Homesite Program stemmed from our desire to extricate ourselves and our children, Ronica (age eight) and Michael (three months), from the Anchorage rat race and see, for a change, some direct results from our labor. By way of preparation, we spent two years in planning, acquiring equipment, stockpiling supplies, and shoring up our courage. When time for the move drew near, Ron went on ahead of the rest of us to haul in supplies, supervise the bulldozer work we were having done, and set up our temporary living quarters: a pickup camper with a plywood addition.
The subdivision containing our sparsely timbered lot (and 217 others pretty much like it) is located approximately 100 miles north of Anchorage, on the perimeter of Mt. McKinley's vast river valley region, near the little town of Talkeetna. To reach our place, you must drive nearly five miles on a dirt road that branches off from the Talkeetna highway.Only 18 of our subdivision's 218 lots are under the Homesite Program; the remaining 200 were sold to the public and so carry no requirements for "proving up." Nonetheless, all property owners in the subdivision are required by state law to form and work within a community association in order to build and maintain roads and other common facilities within the area . . . which creates something of a communications problem, in that most of the 200 non-Homesite lots are absenteeowned. Consequently, our subdivision's roadways (and their three bridges) long remained unimproved.At first, our truck handled the marginal roads with aplomb, having to meet no more of a challenge than doordeep water and mud resulting from spring rains and the previous winter's melting snow. But as spring deepened into summer and the full force of the annual winter breakup washed over us, the ground gradually softened until our truck sank where it was parked. In all, the roads remained impassable for nine full weeks, forcing us to hike the five miles to the highway, then hitchhike to Anchorage to buy supplies, hitchhike back to our road, and make several tiring trips to pack the goods in by foot.Independence Day marked the reopening of our roads, and also brought us our first visitors. Ronica had not played with another child for three months, and so was a whirlwind of activity from the moment our guests and their children arrived. And Ron and I delighted in the smoked salmon, turkey, fresh fruit, and potato chips they brought along. But best of all, our friends—having anticipated our lack of "proper" bathing facilities—trucked in a 55-gallon steel drum, shower hosing, and a cast-iron bathtub. We elevated the drum on a foundation of cinder blocks, filled it with water, built a fire beneath, and let gravity move the heated water from the drum to the tub. It was heaven.But a few days later our guests were gone (and none too soon for their sake, since the three streams that cut our road flooded right after they left, washing out the embankments leading to the bridges), and it was back to work for the Caldwells.Our original plan had been to build a large log house on a sunny bluff that we'd had bulldozed clear of brush and timber. But things rarely go exactly as planned, and our sunny springtime bluff turned out to be a summertime sea of mud that even a network of laboriously hand-dug runoff ditches couldn't keep drained. It soon became obvious that we'd have to find a drier building site. And (to further complicate things) as we got into the slow, hard work of felling, limbing, and hauling in spruce trees (the largest of which was a 50-footer) for our future house, we realized that, at the rate we were going, we'd reach retirement age before we'd have a home.After thinking through the situation and the alternatives available to us, we down-scaled our plans to a modest frame house—which, we told ourselves, could be used as a guest cabin once we (someday!) got our nice big log home built. But in order to finance the materials we'd need to build that frame house, we'd have to return to Anchorage and work through the coming fall and winter.So, at summer's end, we reluctantly left our land and went back to the city, where we worked hard, saved hard, and spent our spare hours poring over carpentry books, drawing and redrawing house plans, estimating what the necessary tools and materials would cost, and visiting housing projects to gain a better understanding of the intricacies of frame construction. The following summer, after breakup, we were ready for our second go at proving up on our "free" Alaska land.With the help of a fellow Homesiter who was an experienced carpenter, we began construction by digging nine sixfoot-deep holes (down to a bedding of firm gravel) around a 20' X 24' perimeter. After sifting our creek's bed for sand to use in mixing concrete, we built up cinder block foundation piers to support a fully insulated, solid box floor. Balloon framing—utilizing twelve-foot-long 2 X 4 exterior wall studs—provided us with a roomy second floor plus a small attic space for storage.When the big day finally came and we moved out of the camper and into our warm, tightly built little house, we knew we had at last realized what had many, many times seemed to be an impossible dream. Furthermore, things continued to get better from there on: During the summer of 1983, our subdivision association finally got sufficiently organized to have our roads bulldozed down to a gravel base. Now—though winter access is still a problem—the roads are dependable enough that we're able to discontinue Ronica's statesponsored correspondence schooling and enroll her in a public school. (Unfortunately, our subdivision association's activities have since been put on legal hold pending majority approval of further projects, and therefore nothing more has been accomplished.)So we're now official Alaska free-land homesteaders. But the price we paid was tremendous. For one thing, the cost of proving up on our lot came to approximately half the parcel's current market value. There was never enough money to go around, so during the past three years we've become adept at piecing together our vehicles, our clothes, and our meals. ( I hadn't realized how distasteful Ronica found our diet of canned stew, peanut butter, and Tang until I found her—rock in one hand and fishnet in the other—trying to catch a squirrel for dinner.)But the highest cost of all was emotional: We were continually required to be strong, to tackle one problem after another, to keep going long after we thought we'd passed our breaking points. But for all of that, we still feel that the life we've bought with our hard work and sacrifice is more than worth the steep price we've paid. Our children are happy and independent, and wear the rosy blush of health on their cheeks. Ron and I have learned the value of mutual trust, faith, and teamwork, and know now that we can indeed turn a dream into reality.Today, when we sit beside our creek and listen to the sounds of the forest, we can't help but smile at our success in having earned title to a piece of Alaska's sometimes costly "free" land.
Free Land Information - Kansas
Tired of the hustle and bustle, crime, poor schools and high cost of living. Make Rawlins County your new home and spend your free time at one of our area lakes, hunting, golfing, trap shooting, hiking, camping, attending your child's or grandchild's school event, driving in the countryside, eating Kansas steaks or just relaxing!
Most of you remember your hometown as a wonderful place in which you grew to adulthood. "YOU CAN STILL FIND THAT WONDERFUL PLACE!" Atwood, Herndon, and McDonald are offering a free lot to anyone willing to move their family to their community and build a new home! We are excited about your becoming a part of your community again. If you have a business you would like to relocate, or perhaps you are ready to be your own boss and start a business, we need you in Rawlins County. We would like to visit with you about business opportunities and incentives in Rawlins County.
Each of the communities in Rawlins County is also a wonderful place to retire! There are many retirees choosing to move to small rural communities. Retirees report they enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of "Small Town Living". They also report many have started small businesses they can now afford to own in our less expensive rural areas. Where else can you enjoy a cup of coffee at the local cafe, and everyone there is your friend?!!!!!
Qualifications for a free lot and property tax abatement on new home construction in Herndon or Atwood, Kansas:
Call 785.626.3640 to review application and qualifications.
Select a home builder and obtain financing approval.
Submit your new home construction plans and financing to RCED.
Begin construction within 6 months of approval of your house plans.
Construction must be completed within one year of approval of plans.
You must live in the home 5 years and pay property tax on the land.
Currently there are 4 - 110' X 130' lots available. Water and sewer lines are in the street and it is the owners responsibility to bring from the street to the building site.
Qualifications for a free lot and property tax abatement on new home construction in McDonald, Kansas:
Call 785.626.3640 to review application and qualifications.
Select a modular or new home builder.
Complete construction within one year.
You must live in the home 5 years and pay property tax on the land.
FREE LAND for your business too!
Find available jobs & business opportunities @ Rawlins County Job Bank
For more information, please contact:
Rawlins County Economic Development
Director, Chris Sramek
Email or 785-626-3640.
The City of Mankato, located in Jewell County in north central Kansas, is offering free lots for the construction of new homes. The Johnson addition housing lots will give people a chance to build a home and live in a small-town atmosphere.
Mankato is a city of just over 900 people in a county that has a population of around 3000 people. The major industry in the area is agriculture, health care, and outdoor hunting and fishing.
There are currently 26 lots available in the Johnson addition on a beautiful horseshoe shaped drive on the east side of the community. The lots are close to a high school, hospital, steak house, motel, and 1/2 mile from the shopping center of the community. All utilities are at or near the lots. There are no assessments against the lots at this time.
Requirements to obtain a free lot in the Johnson addition:
An application including personal information and home plans shall be filled out and submitted to the zoning board.
Applicant must be pre-approved for new home construction by a lending institution and be interviewed by the city council.
Applicant will have a written agreement with a contractor to begin to build a house within six months of acquiring the lot.
Construction shall be a single-family unit built on site or modular construction of all new materials complying with the most recent Uniform Building Codes and National Electric Codes, and will be completed within 2 years after receiving possession of the building lot.
New home will be a minimum of 1200 sq. ft. excluding basement, garage, and porches and have an overhang of at least 18 inches.
Welcome to Lincoln, Kansas... the city "the size of a dime with the heart of a dollar!"
Imagine a 720 square mile county with buffalo, farm animals and wildlife scattered across picturesque hillsides. Imagine that it has 3500 residents and no serious crime - but also local medical care, broadband internet and nine miles of Interstate 70.
It exists. Lincoln is its county seat.
This north-central Kansas town has worked since 2002 to create a fully improved subdivision. It has cost roughly two-thirds of a million dollars in local funding. In October 2004, the city council voted to give away the building sites to the first 21 qualified applicants who agree to build homes which comply with city requirements.
The subdivision is in the city limits, near a baseball field, the city park and the new junior-senior high school and athletic facilities. It is an easy walk to the industrial park and medical complex, and not far from either downtown or the golf course. A 45 minute drive takes you to a major regional center for shopping, medical services, colleges, air travel and entertainment.
New subdivision streets, curbs and gutters are finished and the lots are ready for construction. Home sites of various sizes and shapes are connected to two new cul-de-sacs. Underground utilities service each lot.
Local residents point with pride to other recent advances in their schools, quality-of-life amenities, public safety and recreation. For a small town, Lincoln has a surprising amount to offer the new families it wants to attract.
Lincoln's turreted limestone courthouse is on the National Registry of Historic Places. A hundred yards away, side by side, are the Lincoln Art Center with a boutique gift shop and permanent visual art collection and the Finch Theatre for films, meetings and occasional performing arts.
Local restaurants specialize, variously, in pizza, barbecue, and traditional Midwestern cooking. Three museums bookend the main street's primary shopping area.
The community continues to look forward. Some residents are pursuing a long-term dream of building a wellness center, complete with indoor swimming and other facilities, immediately adjacent to the new subdivision.
Lincoln's traditions date back to the 1870's - but its focus is on the future. Home site information is available from the city offices at 785-524-4280 and from the county economic development offices at 785-524-8954. City Hall ~ 153 W Lincoln Avenue - PO Box 126 ~ Lincoln, KS 67455 ~ Phone 785-524-4280
ALASKA!!
Free land in Alaska!!!
Anderson, a little town in Alaska's interior, has no gas station, no grocery store and no traffic lights, but it does have plenty of woodsy land -- and it's free to anyone willing to put down roots in the often-frozen ground. In a modern twist on the homesteading movement that populated the Plains in the 1800s, the community of 300 people
Alaska: Free Land Is Snapped Up in Hours
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 20, 2007
A town in Alaska’s frozen interior that offered free land to people willing to put down roots had it all spoken for within hours of its being offered. People from as far away as Florida traveled over the weekend to the town, Anderson, population 300, and camped out in weather as cold as 25 degrees below zero. In the morning, 44 parties were waiting in line for a shot at the 26 large lots offered to the first people who applied and submitted refundable deposits of $500. The winner of the 26th lot was Ross Shoger of Portland, Ore., who boarded a 6 a.m. flight on Saturday, just hours after he heard about the offer. Mr. Shoger, 23, flew to Fairbanks, then hitchhiked to Anderson, where he said he planned to do odd jobs to make a living. Those who failed to make the initial cut for the lots still have a chance because city officials gave the first 26 people in line a week to change their minds about making the commitment.
Free Land According Bureau Of Land Managment!
No. While that was true at one time, there is no free land.
What about homesteading?
Congress abolished homesteading in 1976 with passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which made it national policy to retain the public lands in Federal ownership. Today, the BLM manages the public lands for all Americans, who enjoy numerous benefits from these lands, including recreational opportunities, such as camping, hiking, hunting, and fishing.
I have seen an advertisement that says I can obtain low-cost land from the BLM. Is this true?
No. The BLM occasionally sells land - but only at fair market value, as required by law. The advertisement by private companies not associated with the Federal government may ask you to send in money for information about how to buy land for $1.25 an acre (or a similarly low figure). The BLM recommends that you read carefully any advertisement on this subject and be cautious about sending money. The BLM will provide you free and accurate information about land sales.
How does the BLM select land that might be sold?
Through its land-use planning process, the BLM identifies parcels of land for potential sale that fall into one of the following categories:
scattered and isolated tracts that are difficult or uneconomical to manage;
tracts acquired by the BLM for a specific purpose that are no longer needed for that purpose; or
land where disposal will serve important public objectives, such as community expansion and economic development.
However, the growing cities and towns of the West are spreading closer or even next to once-remote BLM-managed public lands. As a result, the public in general - and Westerners in particular - appreciate the open space guaranteed by BLM, which means that the agency considers its land sales even more carefully than in the past.
May I select a specific parcel of BLM-managed public land that I am interested in purchasing?
No. You may bid only for those parcels that the BLM has decided to sell on a competitive-bid basis.
Are there any lands for sale in the East?
No. Sales of BLM managed lands take place only in the Western States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.
Does the BLM sell buildings?
No. The General Services Administration administers the sale of all surplus Federal property.
I heard that I could get land if I have a mining claim. Is that true?
No. Although current law allows you to stake a mining claim on Federal lands that are open to mineral entry, beginning in 1994 and in each subsequent year, Congress declared a moratorium on applying for a mineral patent to a properly located and recorded mining claim. While this moratorium is in effect, the BLM cannot accept mineral patent applications. You may obtain further information on locating mining claims from any BLM State Office.
How can I get a copy of a land or mineral patent?
You may obtain microfilm copies of land and mineral patents from any BLM State Office Information Center at a cost of $1.10 per page. In addition, some land patent records are available for selected states on the BLM's Web site (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/).
How can I get additional information?
You should contact your local BLM office. You can obtain the address from the BLM's Web site or call 202-452-5125.
