What Would GoOffGrid.tools Have Told Pa Ingalls Before He Staked His Claim?
Netflix's Little House on the Prairie premiered July 9. In the book that inspired it, Charles Ingalls loads his family into a covered wagon, drives from Wisconsin to Kansas, and stakes a claim on 160 acres of open prairie based on what he can see: good grass, flat ground, a creek nearby, and the promise that the land would soon be open to settlers.
We ran those same 160 acres through GoOffGrid.tools. The score: 84 out of 100, Good with caveats.
Pa chose good land. Here is what the data shows.
The coordinates: 37.15, -95.93, near Independence, Kansas. Score those coordinates yourself, free
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The land
Charles Ingalls chose 160 acres in Section 36, Rutland Township, Montgomery County, Kansas in 1869. He read the grass, watched where the birds landed, noted the creek nearby and the flatness of the terrain, and made his best judgment with the information available. By the standards of a modern viability score, he did well.
Food production: 12 out of 15
Pa's instinct about the Kansas prairie's agricultural potential was correct. The GoOffGrid food production score reads the growing season, summer heat for crops, water for crops, and the USDA soil survey. The Ingalls parcel does well on nearly all of it: Zone 7a, a growing season of about 200 days, 41 inches of annual rainfall (PRISM Group, Oregon State University), and silty clay soil classified as prime farmland. The clay is what costs it points, because it drains slowly.
In the book, Pa breaks the sod for corn and potatoes, keeps a cow, and hunts the surrounding prairie. The land feeds the family. A food production score of 12 out of 15 backs up what Pa saw when he chose the spot. Montgomery County, Kansas in 1869 was genuinely good farming country.
Water: 17 out of 25
The water score of 17 out of 25 reflects shallow groundwater that is not always generous. Typical wells near the spot run about 55 feet, but about 4 in 10 household wells drilled within 10 miles test under 5 gallons a minute in Kansas Geological Survey driller records, which earns the parcel a Wells Here Often Test Weak warning. With 41 inches of rain a year, a storage tank or rain catchment makes a good backup.
Readers of the book will remember Chapter 12, "Fresh Water to Drink." Pa and his neighbor Mr. Scott are digging deeper, sending a lit candle down each morning to test the air before anyone descends. One morning Mr. Scott goes down without checking. Pa hauls him out unconscious. The water was there, but it was hard won, and today's well records tell a similar story: many household wells nearby test weak. The rest is a story about what it took to get it safely.
The hazard the data sees now
Natural hazards score 14 of 15. The one hazard warning is a flood zone: FEMA maps Zone A within a quarter mile of the spot, though not on the spot itself.
The Ingalls family survived prairie fires, malaria, and wolves during their time on that land. The book documents all of them. GoOffGrid counts the actual strong-tornado paths in NOAA's Storm Prediction Center records instead of assuming the risk for a whole region, and this spot sees about two EF2-or-stronger tornadoes within 25 miles a decade: real, but moderate, and not a flag. Check your own parcel's storm record with GoOffGrid.
The legal score, and the irony at the heart of the story
The legal and access score for the Ingalls homestead is a perfect 20 out of 20 today: a paved road about half a mile away, and Kansas rules on household wells, composting toilets, and rainwater that leave room for an off-grid home. A buyer would still confirm zoning with the county and run a title search.
In 1869 it was Osage territory, and Pa almost certainly knew it.
The Ingalls family were squatters on the Osage Diminished Reserve. Pa had heard, as many settlers had, that the government was about to open the territory to homestead claims. He moved his family there betting that it would. The family stayed about a year and a half, built a house, dug a well, and planted crops. In 1870 Congress arranged to sell the land to settlers at $1.25 an acre, not to give it away as homesteads. The family left in the spring of 1871.
Read more about today’s Off-Grid Laws by State.
Energy potential and buildability
The GoOffGrid energy score is 14 out of 15, reflecting strong solar potential on the sunny, open Kansas prairie. A well-angled panel near the spot gets about 5.2 peak sun hours a day, more than most of the country. A modern off-grid household on that land would have strong solar potential.
Buildability scores 7 of 10. The terrain is flat; what costs it is heavy clay soil that drains slowly, which earns a Septic Challenges warning and is the first thing a septic evaluation would check. Pa's instinct to build on flat, open ground was sound.
What the score tells us
84 out of 100, Good with caveats. Food production strong. Water there, but wells can be weak. Energy potential excellent. Buildability straightforward, apart from the clay. Legal access clean today. Three warnings: weak wells, a mapped flood zone nearby, and clay that complicates septic.
Pa's instincts about the grass, the soil, and the terrain hold up by modern viability measures.
He chose the land well. He bet on the legal situation resolving in the settlers' favor. It did, in 1871, after the family had gone back to Wisconsin.
The Ingalls family built a good home on good land. They just could not keep it.
How to Evaluate Rural Land for a Homestead: A Beginner's Guide to What Actually Matters
Frequently asked questions
What did GoOffGrid.tools score the Ingalls family homestead?
84 out of 100 (Good with caveats).
What did GoOffGrid.tools score the Ingalls family homestead?
84 out of 100 (Good with caveats).
Food production scored 12 out of 15 and water 17 out of 25, and legal access scores a perfect 20 out of 20 today. It carries three warnings: nearby wells that often test weak, a mapped flood zone nearby, and clay soil that complicates septic. Score the Ingalls coordinates yourself.
Why did the Ingalls family leave their Kansas homestead?
Pa almost certainly knew the land was Osage territory when he moved the family there. He was betting the government would open it to homestead claims.
Why did the Ingalls family leave their Kansas homestead?
Pa almost certainly knew the land was Osage territory when he moved the family there. He was betting the government would open it to homestead claims.
The bet did not pay off. Nobody forced them out: soldiers came in February 1870 only to keep the peace, and in the spring of 1871 the family went back to their land in Wisconsin, just as the land was opening to settlers at $1.25 an acre. They never obtained legal title to the land they built on.
Was the Ingalls family's Kansas land actually good for homesteading?
Yes. 84 out of 100 on GoOffGrid.tools.
Was the Ingalls family's Kansas land actually good for homesteading?
Yes. 84 out of 100 on GoOffGrid.tools.
Food production scores 12 out of 15 on silty clay soil classified as prime farmland, a growing season of about 200 days, and 41 inches of annual rainfall. Water is there, though many nearby wells test weak. Flat, buildable terrain, apart from the clay. Pa's agricultural instincts were sound.
What was the well-digging scene in Little House on the Prairie about?
In Chapter 12, Pa and his neighbor Mr. Scott are digging the family's well and sending a lit candle down each morning to check for methane gas.
What was the well-digging scene in Little House on the Prairie about?
In Chapter 12, Pa and his neighbor Mr. Scott are digging the family's well and sending a lit candle down each morning to check for methane gas.
One morning Mr. Scott descends without checking and Pa hauls him out unconscious from gas exposure. GoOffGrid.tools scores the water access for that parcel at 17 out of 25 today: the water table is shallow, but many household wells nearby test weak.
What is GoOffGrid.tools?
A land screening tool that scores any US rural parcel across six dimensions using public government data: water access and rights, legal access, energy potential, natural hazard risk, food production, and buildability.
What is GoOffGrid.tools?
A land screening tool that scores any US rural parcel across six dimensions using public government data: water access and rights, legal access, energy potential, natural hazard risk, food production, and buildability.
Enter an address or coordinates and get a 0-100 viability score. Free score at GoOffGrid.tools. The Property Report adds a written analysis, costs, risk flags, and a checklist.