Harlan & Anna Hubbard - Homesteading Inspiration

Surprised to search permies and not find mention of Harlan & Anna Hubbard, they were homesteaders at a place they named Payne Hollow. (just uphill from the Ohio River(bank)  named Payne Landing in Trimble County Kentucky)

Harlan was a Thoreau disciple who lived an entire 88 year life of 100% freedom.

At a young age, I dreamed of being an artist...

Ideas ripened, and I saw cleavage between the world and nature.

Everyone I knew accepted the world and bondage to it without question.

Was I alone in wanting to live a free and joyous life on this fair earth?  - Harlan Hubbard

I had no theories to prove. I merely wanted to try living by my own
hands, independent as far as possible from a system of division of
labor in which the participant loses most of the pleasure of making
and growing things for himself. I wanted to bring in my own fuel and
smell its sweet smoke as it burned on the hearth I had made. I wanted
to grow my own food, catch it in the river, or forage after it. In short,
I wanted to do as much as I could for myself, because I had already
realized from partial experience the inexpressible joy of so doing.
- Harlan Hubbard (Chapter 2 of Shantyboat)  

Harlan was an artist, writer, homebuilder, boatbuilder, & homesteader.

Anna was a musician, writer & homesteader.

Theirs is a unique love story and worth your time and your kids' time to hear their story...

While dating Anna, Harlan built a house for his mom, in Brent, KY (across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, OH). Laid the stone foundation himself. He was a struggling artist and earned extra money as a construction laborer. He even underpriced his labor to ensure loyalty from the people that hired him.

He loved the rivers near there (Ohio & Great Miami) and Anna encouraged him to build a Shantyboat (drifting houseboat) and they set off (with dogs Skipper and Sadie) to drift all the way to New Orleans (1,385 miles).

They did end up having to stop in the summers (when river flow slowed) and farm before shoving off to drift again. They even "summered" for 10 months in Natchez, MS.  

After reaching New Orleans, they loved the adventure so much that they purchased a little towboat and paid to lock through the Miss. River and explore the Bayous west of New Orleans (my old stomping grounds ~30 years afterwards).

It took a while, but they sold the houseboat & towboat for $679 in Morgan City, Louisiana and purchased their first and only automobile; a Dodge with a rebuilt engine, built a wooden trailer and set off on a 10 month roadway sojourn to the American West. They couldn't easily decide where to homestead, but eventually decided to return to Payne Landing.

For $300 in 1951, they purchased 7Ac of homestead land near the Ohio River bank where they spent their first summer aboard the Shantyboat.

“Anna and I were attracted by the very conditions which caused it to be abandoned. We are unique among its inhabitants, not farmers, nor fishermen nor shanty boaters in the accepted sense; yet closer to the earth than any of them, with true respect for the river and the soil, and for Payne Hollow. May it long remain as it is, not merely for our selfish enjoyment, but for the satisfaction it must give many people to know there is such a place. Few wild pockets are left along the river these days.”  —Harlan Hubbard from Payne Hollow: Life on the Fringe of Society.

You can read more about their adventures in each of the (4) books. And see Harlan's artwork in a few more. His woodcuts and sketches are my personal favorites. He used watercolors  to paint quick snapshots. A wonderful map based biography can be found here.

Every American kid would benefit from hearing their story. They always lived well below the poverty line but had an incredible life. And Harlan even built their house to accommodate Anna's grand piano.

His artwork now hangs in several museums and a non-profit raised  $500K+, purchased their homestead and is working to restore it. (Harlan willed it to a friend/artist, but it fell into disrepair)

Harlan was interviewed by a University of Louisville researcher and the archives of those interviews are available upon request for audio download.

Wendell Berry wrote a book entitled 'Harlan Hubbard'

Harlan foresaw that the American industrial revolution was a road filled with peril and wrote about it in his books.

Harlan's (4) books are:

Shantyboat - A river way of life

Shantyboat on the Bayous

Payne Hollow - Life on the Fringe of Society

A Shantyboat Journal

There is a VERY funny story in 'Shantyboat' where Harlan speaks to a census taker while they are drifting.

Hope you enjoy and take some inspiration from their story, that there is always a path to follow your dreams if you can build your skills along the way.

There is a documentary about their life entitled 'Wonder' (Anna's middle name)
Here is a clip: