The Prairie Homestead

The Prairie Homestead is the original home of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Brown who homesteaded this 160 acres in 1909. It was later occupied by Mr. George Carr until 1949. All the buildings except the cave are the same as they were except for the maintenance and minor restoration. The cave had collapsed so was dug out and rebuilt in the spring of 1966. The original homestead is preserved as though a homestead family was living there today. A small portion of the furnishings is original, the rest typical of the Sodbusters in this area.

Mr. Brown used cottonwood logs (a native tree) for his homestead home. The beams are the original ones he used. The log front is also original. He plowed buffalo grass sod for the upper walls of his home. The sod area around the window was replaced from the same field that Mr. Brown first built his sod home. The remainder of the sod is original. His home was warm in winter and cool in summer. The living room was a deserted claim shack moved in and added on the dugout a few years later.

Photo 654, Sept 2007

The Prairie Homestead

Old Wagon

Photo 652, Sept 2007

The Prairie Homestead

Shed

Photo 656, Sept 2007