Well, he's not going to brag on himself...

Ken (White17) has a pretty cool story. Is also a veteran, think nuclear submarines around Vietnam time frame. Thank you for your service Ken, you are a wonderful mentor for everyone on here... from piggy banks to wild hogs. Thank you!

Articles:
https://www.nps.gov/articles/deardorffs-tractor.htm
https://www.nps.gov/people/kenneth-deardorff.htm
Video 1:
https://www.nps.gov/nps-audiovideo/...ri-DeardorffMaster12OClarge_1280x720.mp4
Video 2:
https://www.nps.gov/nps-audiovideo/...nri-BringTractorHOMEOClarge_1280x720.mp4
Video 3:
https://www.nps.gov/nps-audiovideo/...dsEpicCabininAlaskaEpisode3_1280x720.mp4

Pictures, use the links above:








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Ken Deardoff's story of homesteading in Alaska and his Allis-Chalmers tractor.

The ability to file a homestead claim ended in October 1986 in Alaska. This marked the end of America’s homesteading era. Homesteading had ended ten years earlier in the rest of the country. Ken Deardorff received the final Homestead Act patent for his claim in May 1988. His homestead was deep in the Alaskan interior along the Stony River—about 200 miles west of Anchorage.

Deardorff purchased a 1945 Allis-Chalmers Model C tractor near Palmer, Alaska in 1976, two years after he filed for his land. To get it to his homestead the tractor was disassembled and flown in three separate loads to a location near his home. He then hauled it the rest of the way to his claim by dog sled.

Once it was reassembled, Deardorff used the tractor to pull up hundreds of tree stumps to clear the land for farming to prove up on his homestead claim. The land he claimed had a two month growing season which made farming difficult. His most successful crops were root vegetables such as carrots, radishes, and turnips. However, the potatoes usually did not grow larger than thumb-size.

The Allis-Calmers Model C was designed for use on small farms. It has light, narrow front end which caused it to tip up and go vertical when going up slopes and hills. Deardorff added chains to the back tires to increase traction, but he was still thrown off of the tractor many times. After a few years, he decided to replace the tractor with an International Harvester bulldozer.

In June 2017, Deardorff's tractor was retrieved from his homestead by Homestead National Monument of America. The tractor was very well preserved after being outside and exposed to the elements for about 40 years. There was minimal rust or plant growth, but tractor had sunk into the soil up to 10 inches deep. The University of Nebraska Tractor Restoration Club conserved the tractor after it arrived in Nebraska.

The effort to retrieve, conserve and display this historic tractor was made possible by Dr. C.T. Frerichs. The tractor is on permanent display at the Homestead National Monument of America Heritage Center.

A 3D photogrammetric model of Deardorff's tractor was created by the emerging media team at Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET).
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In 1974, a young Vietnam veteran and native Californian made his way to Alaska to look for work with the U.S. Geological Survey or anyone else that could use a recent college graduate with a degree in geography. Once Ken Deardorff arrived in the nation's 49th state, however, he decided to forgo that life and undertake a new one: that of a homesteader on America's last frontier.

Ken Deardorff was born about as far away from the wilds of Alaska as one could imagine: just outside Los Angeles. After high school, he entered the United States Army and served in Vietnam, where he was wounded in action. After being discharged from the Army, he returned to California and earned his college degree before heading to Alaska. Once there, he went to the office of the Bureau of Land Management in Anchorage and inquired about homesteading lands. He eventually settled on an 50-acre claim on the Stony River in the southwestern part of the state.

Like the lives of countless 19th century homesteaders, the life of a 20th century homesteader was difficult. No roads came anywhere near his homestead, so Deardorff had to charter a plane, take his boat, or walk if he wished to go anywhere. Mail often came only once a month or so, and even picking that up required a long journey to another village. To supplement his income while homesteading, Deardorff opened a small general store on his property that catered to those traveling the Stony River. He also hunted and trapped furs to help make his homestead successful.

Ken Deardorff fulfilled all legal requirements of the Homestead Act in 1979. However, for reasons still unknown, it took nine years for him to receive the patent to the land he worked so hard for so long. Finally, in May 1988, the title arrived from the U.S. government. By then, the Homestead Act had been repealed for twelve years in the lower 48 states and two years in Alaska. Through meticulous research, it was determined in 2001 that Kenneth Deardorff was indeed the very last person to obtain the title to homesteaded property.

Like his 19th and early 20th century predecessors, Deardorff worked long and hard to make his homestead a success. He is without question as much a pioneer as those that came before him.
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The 3d model of the tractor after they recovered it is pretty cool.
>>> TRACTOR 3D MODEL <<<

Directions to Museum:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gWTJ7pTqMNA8zBJP9

bet he set his marker stakes in 1772

Way to go White17

Yes, Ken, thanks for your service and for always being willing to answer whatever financial question I can dream up, lol.

But I am pretty sure he was in a chopper Troy, not a sub.

Pretty sure I remember something about the USS Nautilus but I might be wrong. I may have to take that part out.

Good stuff !

Now there is a man not scared off by hard work.

I remember reading this article in Smithsonian Magazine some years back.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/hist...estead-act-transformed-america-60005030/

Here's a little more....... in honor of the country's semiquincentennial.

https://www.history250.org/films-1/v/episode-67-homesteaders-go-west