40 Acres And A Mule - Free Land Still Available In The United States

Posted by The Happy Rock on October 10, 2007

Ever dreamed of packing up and moving away from your hectic stressful life for the peaceful, rural, prairie beauty of the Midwest? Here is a great oppurtunity for you: some places in the US will actually give you free land, if you move to their town. That’s right, free.

This dated article from CNN Money chronicles one family’s move from Las Vegas to Kansas, where they were given free land to build a house. Some places will even provide monetary credits for each member of your family.

Here is a little flavor of how it works in Ellsworth, Kansas :

In Ellsworth County, for example, there are 23 lots available for free to individuals, assuming they’re pre-qualified to build a house that is at least 1,000 square feet and agree to build a house on the land within two years time.

In addition to the land, families with children stand to receive $1,500 to $3,000 toward a down payment when they buy in the area. “Each new child is worth an additional $6,000 to our school district from the state,” said Anita Hoffhines, executive director of Ellsworth County Economic Development.

Here are some free land opportunities in Kansas. There are similar incentives in North Dakota, although as the site says that the “odds are, you are not a candidate for NW North Dakota.”. You need a portable job, financial security, and a solid moral fiber to qualify. The North Dakota site was written by some good marketers, because just reading through it gets my mind thinking through the possibilities. The article also shares that towns are willing to work deals with new business owners that plan to bring economic value to the area.

Living on the east coast, I would have never thought that the Midwest was so desperate for new residents. I have been to and through most of the northern US states and they are astonishingly beautiful, although if you are used to suburban/city living there isn’t much of anything there. In Wyoming it could be 200 miles between gas stations! It is still quite fun to dream!

» Filed Under Money Savers, Real Estate

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Comments

36 Responses to “40 Acres And A Mule - Free Land Still Available In The United States”

plonkee (6 comments.) on October 11th, 2007 8:03 am

It makes me think that they must be desparate to give away land for free. I know the idea isn’t for me (no desire to live in the sticks, and no visa either for that matter).
FinanceAndFat (1 comments.) on October 11th, 2007 3:04 pm

I’d be a bit concerned about the type of neighbors I might have in the free land neighborhood.

Very interesting to hear that these opportunities exist though.
The Happy Rock (329 comments.) on October 11th, 2007 3:25 pm

@plonkee - It must be that bad, or they are just being proactive. I would think lack of decent jobs in very rural settings would be a huge problem. As would a Visa.

@FinanceAndFat - With a free land program, I wouldn’t worry too much. A town doesn’t want to bring in the type of people that would damage their town, so they just wouldn’t get free land(I hope).
Brip Blap (1 comments.) on October 11th, 2007 9:00 pm

I’m with Plonkee - it’s not for me, but it is amazing that these states are so desperate to attract taxpayers.
Jon (1 comments.) on October 12th, 2007 9:14 am

The thing is, land is already really cheap in those areas, so how much value are you really getting? If they offered a free house on that free land, I bet you’d have some takers. Oh, and install infrastructure for high speed internet. I think I’d move there!
The Happy Rock (329 comments.) on October 12th, 2007 9:27 am

@BripBlap - You got it right, they want taxpayers.

@Jon - From what I could tell the high speed internet was available, at least in NW North Dakota. As for your comment about the house vs. the land, you make a good point, though I don’t have a clear picture of what lots are worth in rural towns.
poetloverrebelspy (3 comments.) on October 16th, 2007 1:27 pm

The NY Times published an article about this last year which painted a fairly realistic picture of the pros and cons for new settlers to North Dakota.
The Happy Rock (329 comments.) on October 17th, 2007 3:51 pm

poetloverrebelspy - Thanks for the great article link. I gave it a mention on today’s post.
Just some guy from North Dakota on November 13th, 2007 11:26 pm

I live in North Dakokta and was just looking around to see how much land costs. The cheapest land near me is $550 an acre, so it’s not like they’re giving away anything too valuable. I think there’s only about 600,000 people in the state, so we could definately use some more people. The emptiness is awesome. I can drive a couple miles out of town and there’s nothing around me, just the flat plains and the huge open sky, it’s beautiful. It’s great because I can smoke weed out in the open on a beautiful day without worrying about getting caught, ’cause if anyone’s coming I can literally see them from a mile away. By the way, we’ve had broadband here for years.
Melody on April 7th, 2008 6:03 am

I see that he titled this post “40 acres and a mule” but from what I’ve heard, rural North Dakota is not for Black people. It would be dangerous for them, I’m told. Is this true?
The Happy Rock (329 comments.) on April 7th, 2008 11:58 pm

@Melody - I am sure there is racism in North Dakota, but I really wouldn’t know if it is any worse than anywhere else. The optimist in my would like to think that it wouldn’t be dangerous or seriously harmful.
John on April 8th, 2008 1:50 am

I live in rural North Dakota and it is definitely safe for black people here. A couple of my friends throughout high school were black and they rarely encountered racism, and never violence. The black people who go to the rural North Dakota college that I attend have not experienced any violence. Pretty much the only violent crime in the state is stupid drunk people getting in bar fights and domestic violence. I’ve never heard of any hate crimes, and throughout the whole state there’s probably less than 5 murders a year. Last year I think there was 5 murders, 3 in Minot and I think a couple got killed in some small town down south, and that’s the most in a year that I can ever remember. Now that I think about it, there was a murder in East Housing(East of Dunseith) where a woman was murdered in her house by a couple of teenage girls, but I can’t remember if that was late last year or early this year.
The Happy Rock (329 comments.) on April 8th, 2008 7:45 am

@John - Thanks for the first hand information. North Dakota sounds pretty ‘normal’ for a rural area, and pretty pleasant.
Homeless in Texas on September 4th, 2008 11:11 am

Actually, I believe having to pay money for land is quite the idiotic concept. A couple of hundred years ago, paying money for land was not the typical way of obtaining land in America. One would merely put in for a land grant with the stipulation that you improve upon the land and it was yours. Where I live (Texas) every single tiny inch of land is owned by someone and, don’t climb over a fence or ‘you jes mite git yo beehind shot off! (literally)’ As one drives down the highway with infinite miles of fences on either side of the road and the rancher watching suspiciously from the window of his ranch house, shotgun in hand, you feel like cattle being herded from town to town, city to city, like pastures, and then it’s back in the cattle chute again (the road) to head to the next town (pasture). It’s sad really. Anymore, we are born unto this earth and basically told that there is no self-sustained lifestyle anymore. You either get a nine-to-fiver (boring) or become a homeless POS. You either work to make the almighty dollar (as opposed to homesteading), or have no place to exist. It’s not the work I have a problem with. I love hard, manual labor, such as that endured by the pioneers. It’s the not having a choice of what kind of life to live that bugs me. So here I am, renting, and probably will be for the rest of my life…..:-( My pioneering spirit has no place in Texas. Get me out of here!!!!

Homeless in Texas
(aka Texas Tenant)
Glenn on September 6th, 2008 6:25 pm

I like the idea of getting free land in the middle of no where to raise our family but I’m not sure I like the plains of North Dakota, I’m more for forest and mountains. Does any one know of any states like that that are offering free land, such as Alaska, washington or colorado?
james mandrell on September 8th, 2008 5:04 pm

i am 37 years old ,farm raised. I have 2kids. Id like more info on this if i could
The Happy Rock (329 comments.) on September 10th, 2008 12:03 am

@Glenn and james - All the information I found is in this article. I haven’t heard of more opportunities outside of the ones listed here and I haven’t been researching it any further since I will never move out there. It was just so interesting though.

Glenn, those are some amazing choices for states! Just beautiful.
Tammy at Myrtle Beach Real Estate (1 comments.) on November 18th, 2008 2:59 pm

The way things are going here in Myrtle Beach, we may be giving property away pretty soon…or something pretty close to that. But seriously, this sounds like a fabulous opportunity for those who love small town life.
Matt on November 23rd, 2008 2:07 am

I personally believe that people should not really be able to “own” land. But it’s probably impossible to find a decent job, and individual owned farms are impossible to make enough money to live on anymore. This is perfect for people who don’t really want a fancy life and are perfectly content with living off the land.
baracuda68 on December 2nd, 2008 2:42 am

Isn’t ” homesteading” still in effect? If it’s open gov’t land, you can stake a claim, right?
Alan on December 4th, 2008 5:39 pm

There is no such thing as free land !!!

Its not like you get 40 acres and can pull up and build a cabin out of tree poles and dirt. In Kansas you get a free lot, the cost of the house is yours and you then have to pay taxes, get a job etc.

Check out http://www.kansasfreeland.com/

Chetopa takes my fancy …

While driving through Colorado last week I saw a sign for free land - near the Kansas border …. which means its much like kansas - flat, dry and windy !

Personally I’d look for ‘cheap’ land near Amarillo - there you can find a 20 acre plot with trailer for under $10k …. I love Texas !
TyBoe on December 9th, 2008 4:09 pm

I don’t feel like living anywhere else traveled most of adult life all over the world. I now live nine miles from the old hospital now “retirement home” I was born in. Its a small town in southern Oregon my home. my friends are here my family has been here for gernerations. I’m a logger and I’m always seeing new land. These properties are always owned by the BLM or Forest Services. I would like to know how the government can hold these lands hostage from serving a better purpose like a home for my family or some other native Oregonian. why can the government go and claim land and you and I can’t. What happed to the old homestead act.
TyBoe on December 9th, 2008 4:16 pm

As for the Baracuda68 Question sure you can stake claim on government land. Until they kick you off and charge you with trespassing, Its labeled by the Feds as Scwatting. There throw you in jail.
Christianpf (21 comments.) on August 28th, 2009 11:50 am

I can’t believe this is still going on! I am going to have to look into this further - thanks for the heads up!
ST on October 11th, 2009 3:33 pm

I have lived on the MS gulf coast all my life. After Katrina it is not the same. There have been all kinds of people moved down here thinking they were gonna make a killing and have taken away jobs from locals (they can do the work cheaper because they usually don’t have a family to support). The volunteers have built house for people had plenty of money to pay for their house to be built, which has taken away jobs from the locals. At 50 I have had to support my two sons because they cannot find work, (someone else will do it cheaper). I would love to be able to get away from here. If I had a sure fire way to support myself I would jump at this chance in a heartbeat.
Guy on January 13th, 2010 1:45 pm

I’m a math teacher. Do you think they would build me a one room school house to educate the people moving to these rural places? I need to live in a place where there is little to no violence. I grew up in Chicago. And I am sick of all the violence.
steve on January 15th, 2010 7:29 am

gentlemen/ladies

i am interested in having a free land,if
anyone could be of assistance,i appreciate it.

i also feel with the teacher above,who wants
to live in a nice small town crime free and safe.
may god give all that inspiration,and
opportunity,since i believe there is no price
for health,good name,safety,a tranquil life,time

these are priceless.
alan on January 18th, 2010 11:17 am

Yes, there are small towns in Kansas which have free land still available. Eureka which is an our out of Wichita, is a nice little town. The deal is, you have to commit to building a house within two years. Some towns offer additional assistance.