DESERT RAT SHACKS, RAMBLING RANCHOS, U-FINISH HOMES, AND LAND FRAUD SCHEMES:

THE LEGACY OF THE HOMESTEAD ACT OF 1863, THE DESERT LANDS ACT OF 1877, THE SMALL TRACT ACT OF 1938, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON 20TH CENTURY

ARCHITECTURAL STYLES.

THE ACTS

The Government’s various schemes to turn useless desert land into

taxable revenue.1. The Homesteading Act (1863)2. The Desert Lands Act (1877)3. The Small Tract Act (1938)

Homestead Act (1862) The homestead Act was enacted by Congress in 1862 in order to encourage settlement of surplus government lands in marginal areas thereby creating an increase in tax revenues on that land.

For a small fee, claimants could patent 160 acres, but they were required to “improve” on the property by building a dwelling, living there for 5 years, AND cultivating the land.

Epic FailIn the more arid regions of the desert, those 160 acres were often unusable due to lack of water and infertile land.

Desert Land Act (1877)

640 acres for $1.25 an acre. Or for .25¢ an acre, claimants could agree to purchase water rights, build canals, irrigate, and cultivate the land for 3 years.BUT they DID NOT have to live on it.

EPIC FAILSpeculators paid people to file

fraudulent claims thereby amassing for themselves huge land holdings. The Act became just as much a tool to exploit water rights as land

since one was useless without the other.

The “Colonies”

Epic Fail

Desert land quickly becomes exhausted.

Long periods of drought effected water supply.

The land quickly turned to dust that formed clouds extending for as much as a hundred miles.

The Movement West Lots of people, but no usable land After the Depression, the floods of people who came west were looking for low cost property reminiscent of what they had left behind back East, and the government saw it as an opportunity to try once again to pawn off marginal desert land.

The Small Tract Act (1938)

Like the Homestead Act, the Small Tract Act required improvements to the property in the form of a livable structure.

Did not require either full time residency or cultivation.

Meant to attract weekend or seasonal vacationers to the desert.

Desert Vacation Homes aka Jack Rabbit Homesteads

Epic Fail Land was sold with no attempt to build the infrastructure needed to maintain any of the properties built.

People quickly abandoned their properties when the novelty of desert living wore off.

Resulted in approximately 2000 abandoned “Desert-rat Shacks” AKA “Jack Rabbit Homesteads” in Southern California.

The Archetectural Legacy The effects of these Acts were strongly felt in the deserts of Southern California where poverty and resourcefulness combined to create structures often stitched together out of cheap and/or found materials.

Rambling Rancheros or Frankenhouses

Wooden House Additions over time

Original Structure ?

One or two room shack

Brick House

Brick house with

additions

Brick house as

original wood frame shack

Desert Rat Shacks

These really unique and colorful houses became part of the romantic legacy of the desert.

M. Penn Phillips M. Penn Phillips realized the reasons for the failure of the Small Tract Act. He determined to bring people to the desert by not only allowing them to have the home of their dreams, but to provide the infrastructure to make it possible to live out in the desert. His brainchild, the U-Finish Home, made desert living affordable and practical.

The U-Finish Home

Why he was successful Built the infrastructure so that people could work and play where they lived.

Provided low cost homes for workers and their families for nearby resort areas and military installations.

Used many of the same tactics to promote and sell his properties that the early colony speculators had.

Epic Fail, or was it? Phillips faced several lawsuits because of his unethical sales tactics and over-inflated valuation of his properties.

Too often the area’s economy where he built was tied to short term or seasonal growth, which he neglected to warn his clients about.

Many of his desert areas never achieved long term economic diversity or stability.

His houses themselves are considered unattractive “desert rat shacks” that many would like to see condemned.

But many of his planned communities did continue to grow and prosper.

Conclusion DesertRatShacks JackRabbitHomesteads Shot-gunShacks RamblingRancheros FrankenHouses

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