What Would GoOffGrid.tools Have Told Pa Ingalls Before He Staked His Claim?
Netflix's Little House on the Prairie premieres 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: 90 out of 100.
Pa theoretically chose good land. Here is what the data shows.
The coordinates: 37.15, -95.93, near Independence, Kansas. Read the full off-grid report for their claim
The same tool that scored the Ingalls homestead scores any property you are evaluating today. .
Free score at GoOffGrid.toolsThe 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 very well.
Food production: 15 out of 15
Pa's instinct about the Kansas prairie's agricultural potential was correct. The GoOffGrid food production score pulls from USDA plant hardiness zone, growing season length, frost dates, and soil classification. The Ingalls parcel scores perfectly across all four: Zone 6b, a 210-day growing season, 38.6 inches of annual rainfall, and nutrient-rich silty clay soil classified as prime farmland.
In the book, Pa plants crops, tends a garden, keeps a cow, and hunts the surrounding prairie. The land feeds the family. A perfect food production score of 15 out of 15 confirms what Pa saw when he chose the spot. Montgomery County, Kansas in 1869 was genuinely good farming country.
Water: 23 out of 25
The water score of 23 out of 25 reflects strong, accessible groundwater close to the surface. Pa dug his well by hand and hit water at only 20 feet, remarkably shallow by frontier standards.
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 for methane gas before anyone descends. One morning Mr. Scott goes down without checking. Pa hauls him out unconscious. The water was there. The score reflects that. The rest is a story about what it took to get it safely.
The environmental red flag
The GoOffGrid natural hazard dimension issues one critical warning for this parcel: extreme tornado risk.
The Ingalls family survived prairie fires, malaria, and wolves during their time on that land. The book documents all of them. The tornado risk is the hazard the data surfaces that the family never encountered. They were lucky. Montgomery County sits squarely in tornado alley and GoOffGrid flags it accordingly.
The legal score, and the irony at the heart of the story
The legal access score for the Ingalls homestead is a perfect 20 out of 20 today. Open zoning, no restrictions, clean title.
In 1869 it was Osage territory, and Pa 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 nearly two years, built a house, dug a well, and planted crops. The opening never came the way he expected. They left.
Read more about today’s Off-Grid Laws by State.
Energy potential and buildability
The GoOffGrid energy score reflects strong solar potential, consistent with the sunny, open Kansas prairie. Peak sun hours in Montgomery County are well above the national average. A modern off-grid household on that land would have excellent solar potential year-round.
Buildability scores well too. The terrain is flat. The soil supports standard foundation and septic construction. Pa's instinct to build on flat, open ground was correct by every modern buildability metric.
What the score tells us
90 out of 100. Food production perfect. Water strong. Energy potential excellent. Buildability straightforward. Legal access clean today. One critical risk flag: extreme tornado risk.
Pa's instincts about the grass, the water, the soil, and the terrain were correc
t by every modern viability metric. He chose the land well. He bet on the legal situation resolving in his favor. It did not.
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?
90 out of 100.
What did GoOffGrid.tools score the Ingalls family homestead?
90 out of 100.
Food production scored a perfect 15 out of 15. Water scored 23 out of 25. Legal access scores 20 out of 20 today. The one critical risk flag is extreme tornado risk. See the full report.
Why did the Ingalls family leave their Kansas homestead?
Pa 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 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. The land dispute that forced them out in 1871 has long since been resolved. They never obtained legal title to the land they built on.
Was the Ingalls family's Kansas land actually good for homesteading?
Yes. 90 out of 100 on GoOffGrid.tools.
Was the Ingalls family's Kansas land actually good for homesteading?
Yes. 90 out of 100 on GoOffGrid.tools.
Perfect food production score reflecting nutrient-rich silty clay soil, a 210-day growing season, and 38 inches of annual rainfall. Strong water access. Flat, buildable terrain. Pa's agricultural instincts were correct.
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. The well was only about 20 feet deep. GoOffGrid.tools scores the water access for that parcel at 23 out of 25, reflecting the shallow water table that made water highly accessible on that land.
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 with plain-English commentary. Free score at GoOffGrid.tools. Full report is $79.