Just saw this on my Yahoo page... http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/7-towns-where-land-is-free.html
7 Towns Where Land is Free
As small towns suffer from a continuing flight from rural toward-more urban living, some economic development groups and governments in these troubled areas have chosen to stay and fight.
Curtis, Nebraska, Courtesy curtis-ne.com
The Homestead Act of 1862 is no longer in effect, but free land is still available out there in the great wide open (often literally in the great wide open). In fact, the town of Beatrice, Nebraska has even enacted a Homestead Act of 2010 .
As with the homesteaders of the 1800s, the new pioneers must not be the faint of heart-they can't be the type to shy away from the trials of building a home from the ground up, or the lack of Starbucks on every corner, or unpaved roads (extremely remote location and lack of infrastructure is probably what caused a well-publicized land giveaway in Anderson, AK to flop). If the satellite view of the vast open space surrounding the modest street grids of these towns doesn't instill cabin fever, then read on-these parcels are up for land grabs.
Marne, Iowa
Marne is a southwestern Iowa community with a population of just 149 or so, about 60 miles from Omaha and 80 miles from Des Moines. It was never a big town (pop. 617 in 1875), but the head count really began declining around the turn of last century, through the teens and 20s. "The decline of the family farm affects rural areas like this, says Mayor Randy Baxter. "Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, there more smaller farms, and small towns supported the folks in the country, but now those homes aren't there anymore."
In hopes of boosting that number, the Marne Housing and Development Corp has made four free lots available :3 for private and 1 for commercial use. The first family to take advantage of the free land moved onto their new property the fall of 2008, also availing funds from the USDA's Rural Development Agency for building their home, and they qualified for $10,000 down payment assistance from the Southwest Iowa Planning Council.
To take advantage of the free land in Marne, applicants need only to submit a proposed floor plan for the house they want to build. It's not restrictive, but Baxter notes that it must be within reason-- no trailer homes, no horses or livestock. Among the unreasonable proposals for the land: "They want to bring a camper in hogs, or store junk there."
New Richland, MN
New Richland is a town of about 1200 in southern Minnesota, 75 miles from the outskirts of the Twin Cities, offering lake recreation and many fine churches. If this sounds like home, then consider a free 86' x 133' lot on the Homestake subdivision on the northwest side of town. Those who claim lots must build a house on the property within one year.
The land itself is free, but assessments for services provided by the town such as streets, curb and gutter, water and sewer. The fee for these is about $25,000, which suddenly sounds a lot less like "free," but through Tax Increment Financing this number is reduced to about $14,000 for qualified candidates, which is paid over 15 years on a semi-annual basis along with real estate taxes.
Kansas
Kansas has so much free land offered throughout the state by local Kansan governments and development groups that there's an online hub to organize all the information, the appropriately named Kansas Free Land .
"Most rural areas in Kansas have been declining in population since 1900, so rural Kansas communities either fight or disappear," says Jenny Russell, Republic County Economic Development Coordinator for Republic County in northern Kansas.
Her county has opted to fight. Republic County has a free land option available for the right industry and free residential lots throughout its communities for new home construction. Russell cites the area's rural advantages: very low overhead costs compared to cities, and "With developing technologies, businesses are now able to conduct their operations from almost anywhere."
Kansas Free Land links to more than a dozen communities, from Herndon, population 124, to Wilson, population 9,698, each with their own offers and requirements.
Beatrice, Nebraska
Beatrice, NE
One city in southeastern Nebraska that reaped the benefits of the original Homesteading Act of 1862 has created a new version of what worked so well before. The Homestead Act of 2010 offers several parcels of land for free on a first-come, first-served basis. As with the original act, applicants must occupy their parcels of land for five years.
With a population of about 12,564 and situated just 40 miles south of Lincoln (via the Homestead Expressway) and 99 miles from Omaha, Beatrice is one of the most populous and more accessible locations on this list. In this case, the aim is not to stave off the death of a town with a dwindling population, but to clean up neglected properties and get them to generate taxes and utility fees once again.
Muskegon, MI
Hoping to attract industrial employers, the city and county of Muskegon, Michigan, (pop. 174,344) launched Muskegon 25. Under this program, companies that will bring in 25 full-time jobs or more will be granted industrial park property for building, complete with all services, gratis. In addition, the industrial parks are situated in low tax "Renaissance Zones."
Muskegon Area First is hoping to attract food processing industry, other suppliers for local industries, and alternative energy providers. New or existing companies creating 25 jobs are allotted five acres, 50 jobs get 12 acres, 75 jobs get 20 acres, and 100 or more jobs get 20 acres. The program also provides discounts at rates proportionate to the amount of jobs created. The 25-job companies are entitled to 50% off water and sewer bills, and the discounts increase from there, down to 20% of the full rate.
State business credits and other tax incentives are also available. To sweeten the deal further, the city will even throw in tickets to Lumberjacks hockey season tickets or a local boat slip to qualified participating companies.
Curtis, NE
Curtis is known as Nebraska's Easter City due to its famed 40-year-old Easter Pageant tradition. This 3.266-square-kilometer community of approximately 832 persons in southern Nebraska's Medicine Valley has the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture and an airport three minutes away.
Sound good? All righty, then: Curtis offers two options for free-land claimers. Consolidated Companies, Inc. created Roll 'n Hills lots to boost the local economy by providing free sites on paved streets with all utilities for single-family homes. Three of those lots now have occupied homes, says Ed Coles of Consolidated, and nine remain.
Additional free lots are available through the city of Curtis that overlook the all-grass nine-hole Arrowhead Meadows Golf Course, which is one of the best public courses in the state-at least according to Medicine Valley's economic development website .
Camden, ME
Camden is the coastal exception in this otherwise-landlocked list of free land locales. The charming New England berg of about 4,052 citizens is offering 3.5 acres of land near Camden Harbor for a business that will create at least 24 jobs .The former industrial site on the Megunticook River, refurbished by the Town of Camden, comes equipped with 3 Phase Power, Sewer, Water, Cable, Broadband, and parking is available for up to 300.
Clearly, this is a prime deal for the right company. The Town of Camden is hoping for a company from industries such as biotech, information technology, financial services, medical labs, film, or green businesses. In fact, those last two listed industries are encouraged, as creative economy employers are encouraged and environmentally friendly businesses are given preference in this search.
There is still FREE land!
Isn't it strange that all the giveaways have strings? I can understand some of the attempts but so many folks wouldn't want what they offer, or may not qualify.
On the other hand, my grandmother and 2 sisters homesteaded 160 acres in Colorado in the early 1900's. All they had to do was live on it 5 years, and they started with a walled tent. Taxes were non-existent, and no utilities nor other expenses other than what they wanted to put on the land, like drill a well. There was a spring, so a well ckoser to home was merely convenience.
Myself, I'd want to be off the grid.
But, interesting reading, thanks for posting it!
I had seen that too and it didn't take long to realize
wasn't "homesteaders" they are looking for.
Darius, that is so cool. Bet there are lots of stories in the family. I see where you get your homesteading influences.
Thanks, Caj. What is fascinating to me is the old photos of them... how 3 women managed to get into those long dresses and high-button shoes in a tent is beyond imagination. The men in the photos were in suits and bowlers (and rode a donkey or mule, LOL.)
My grandma was a crack rifle shot and would pick off rabbits from the salt lick for dinner.
Within 2-3 years they all married, and the one who married a Colorado settler eventually bought out the other sisters who moved on.
Wow! Free land ~ I'm reading thru the list and came across New Richland MN. I said Huh? That is near the area I grew up in and it is within an hours drive of the twin cities area. That area has become so developed that folks think nothing of commuting to the cities to work from that distance and further. I am also well aware of the incredible taxes and services that MN assesses in general. Nope, methinks they are trying to put a modern spin on the name 'homesteader'. The state in general is so expensive that you commonly see family towns spring up on a family farm. The old farm home is surrounded by mobile homes or smaller houses which is good as it reestablishes the family unit.
I love to think about what the original homesteaders had to endure like your Colorado homesteaders Darius. Those were of hardy stock when you think of living in a tent in a Colorado winter, fending off the two and four legged maurauders. A gal I know tells of her Granny traveling across Canada and homesteading in Washington state as a single woman. One wonders what made them set off alone in that manner, what hopes, dreams and fears they lived with. I was given a book years ago compiled of letters written in those early days by Minnesotans. It was titled Bring Warm Clothes and tells of the hardships those settlers had to endure. Amazing to think that todays' society came from that mindset.
Fun read mornin_gayle thanks for posting it.
I like to read about the pioneers.
My great-grandmother & great-grandfather swallowed the railroad barons' line and bought homestead land from the RR near Minden, Nebraska, in the 1800's My great-grandfather, a Civil War vet, had actually homesteaded there just before they arrived. My GGmother later (in her 80's) wrote up her memoirs about their lives as homesteaders -- she had kept terrific records! The book is a fabulous insight into their daily lives. She quit writing when she got up to where she turned over her secretarianship of the Farmers' Alliance to others. Along the way she had 11 children and published and printed her own newspaper with the help of her eldest daughter. At least three writers have published her memoirs with their own comments, some of them wrong! I not only read Luna's handwritten memoirs when I was in my 20's, but typed up a copy. Her name was Luna Kellie -- her husband James came from Canada and still had his Scottish brogue. As a widow, she also homesteaded in Arizona, in her 80's.
In my own small way, I guess, I try to emulate Luna. Only I have a cell phone, a computer with satellite connection, TV, radio, automobiles, solar electricity, lights, propane gas, and (what is left of) a bank account. But I think of Luna often while I work on my "homestead" and enjoy the peace, the solitude, and the space out here in the country. I never have had to keep a piglet in the house because there was no wood for a fence, never had the roof of the soddy fall in on my bed with me, my husband, and baby in it during a rainstorm, never had my toddler plant my treasured buttons in the garden, never had to sell a watermelon to buy a stamp to mail birthday greetings to my mother, never lost two babies, never had to bring the cows inside the soddy during a blizzard. Oh, what they went through, and survived!
My biggest obstacle is the myriad of laws, fees, requirements, prohibitions, etc that suck my money from me and keep me from doing what I want on my own land. In that way, Luna and James were better off than we are today. If only the @#$%^& govt. would get out of our lives! (Except for drawing social security, which I have paid for over the years, I get nothing from the govt; they don't pave the roads out here, don't provide fire or police protection, and recently passed an ordinance that allows gigantic wind turbines (electricity generating factories) only 1320 feet from our property, thus removing the protection of previously existing zoning laws. And hoo-haw, do I pay taxes!
AZ, your life sounds facsinating (sp?). I know it is not glamorous or without it's hardships but the peace and tranquility is a good tradeoff that many people will never enjoy. I hate that the wind turbines will diminish your your quality of life. As far as the progress goes, I'm sure Luna would have enjoyed such convenience had she had the opportunity. She sounds like a strong lady. I would dearly love to read about her. Can her book be purchased?
One of my ancestors, Charles Larpenteur, wrote a book. He worked for a fur trading company on the upper Missouri river. The book is titled "Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri". Because he kept such dtailed records not only of his trades and business but also of the area and the people, the book is in the library of congress for it's historical contribution. It's a good read.
What a great family history!
There must be all kinds of wonderful stories lost over the years either because no one recorded them at the time, or no one in later generations cared enough to keep them.
It is a shame how much knowledge dies with a person. I have always liked spending time with elderly people and hearing them talk about the "old" days.
Cajun, your fur-hunting ancestor sounds fascinating, too! I love reading personal histories. Is his book still in print? If you want to read abut Luna, just search on Amazon books for Luna Kellie. The latest published work claims that her daughter, my grandmother Lois Munsil, typed the manuscript when she was in her 70's. Sorry, that was me, another Lois Munsil, when in my 20's. Grandma was in a hurry to get the manuscript back so I rushed through the typing, typos & all, intending to retype it later. What with family raising, going to college, etc., I never got around to it. That was 50 years ago! I keep meaning to write the author to correct her, but may never get around to it . . . LOL
It is still in print. It is a bison book from University of Nebraska Press.
I will look up her book. I would love to read it.
Thanks, Cajun, I will look up your ancestor's book, too. I know I will love reading it. The U of Nebraska Press is a vast resource.