Growing up on a Homestead in Alaska felt normal. Doesn’t everyone have their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins spread out evenly down an old homestead road? A childhood like mine was atypical in the 1980s and 90s in the Mat-Su Valley as homesteading and the tradition, self-reliance, and hard work of maintaining a large plot of land fell out of trend, making way for planned neighborhoods, paved streets, and large stores providing convenience for Alaskan families.

Our family homestead began in 1951 when my grandfather, a World War II Veteran, with his wife and young family, along with a family friend embarked on the difficult task of building the long road to our homestead to carve out their American Dream right here in the Mat-Su.

Alaska has a rich history of homesteading beginning with President William McKinley signing an 1898 legislation extending homestead laws to the then District of Alaska. By the time the last homestead claims were made in the 1980s, approximately 3,500 people had received land in Alaska, making my grandparents part of a small group of extremely hard-working Alaskan Homesteaders that fulfilled the following requirements for acquiring a homestead:

1. Live on the claimed land for most of five consecutive years.
2. Live in a habitable dwelling (a tent would not count).
3. Cultivate at least one-eighth of the land.

My Grandparents could have never predicted the legacy they forged through their perseverance to develop the land and live through decades with very little infrastructure and assistance other than their robust network of other homestead families in the area. Fast forward to 2024 where 4 generations of their descendants live and manage the homestead all while the trend of Homesteading as a Lifestyle is making a comeback.

Look no further than YouTube influencers like Simple Living Alaska’s Eric and Ariel Illia with nearly 1 million subscribers and hundreds of videos featuring a young couple and their pursuit of a self-sufficient dream in Southcentral Alaska or even the Kilcher Family Homestead reality TV show, Alaska: The Last Frontier with 11 seasons based out of the Homer area that documents their family living of the land in Alaska since the 1940s.

Since COVID, our nation has seen a dramatic trend back towards simplifying our busy lives, growing and preserving food, raising animals, and embracing the responsibility that comes with a life cultivated by hand.

In Alaska, the topic is so popular, local owner of Common Ground Alaska, a farmstead in Big Lake, Tandy Hogate is putting on the very first Alaska Homestead Expo April 27 and 28, 2024 at the Big Lake Lions Club. With topics like off-grid living, gardening, livestock, food preservation and more, this Expo can help expand your traditional skills with an emphasis on Alaskan only presenters making this event perfect for your friends and family in the Last Frontier. Kids are Welcome and Free (18 & Under) with special classes just for them, Kids (Ages 5-12) and Youth (Ages 12-18) and over 30 workshops for Adults. Tickets for Adults are $65 and can be purchased here:

Common Ground Tickets

Source: alaskawatchman.com