Photographing in the Dust Bowl, Part II
On my drive through Texas County in northwest Oklahoma, I found this old homestead which I’m guessing dates back to the 1920’s. It was not too far from a county highway, but it looked as if no one had visited it in a long time. Fortunately, just like the old schoolhouse I’d visited earlier that morning, there was no sign of vandalism anywhere. It was as if the occupants had abandoned their farmhouse decades ago and left it for nature to take over.
The home is located on a desolate hilltop, with no other farms or buildings around. The flat, dusty fields surrounding it, and the dirt road that goes past take you back to the 1930’s.
This was my favorite location of the day; a well-preserved farm on an isolated hill, surrounded by acres and acres of dirt. I’d guess that during the growing season, the farm is pretty much hidden from view and maybe that’s why it’s been so well preserved. The small, orange painted home is pockmarked with chunks of plaster falling off its exterior, but for now, it seems to be in sound shape. Many of the shingles have blown off the roof, exposing the wooden sheathing underneath. I was able to explore the small barn out back, which hasn’t fared as well. Most of it has tumbled down, but there were a few items of interest inside, including an old tin for water or oil, as well as a mailbox with the name of the last occupants on top. I also found a board from an old fruit box that came from Kelowna, British Columbia (Canada)– a long way to travel to a remote corner of Oklahoma.
The view from the back door.
There’s not much left of the home’s interior. An old water heater lies in the back room, and most of the floorboards are missing, though there was a tantalizing set of stairs going down to a crawl space under the house. There was no back door to the house, though I did find a doorknob in the overgrown grass about thirty feet away. I couldn’t help wondering, who built the farm and lived here, when did they abandon their home, and how long has it stood alone out on the plains?
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