Jackrabbit Homestead

“…Although jackrabbit homesteading occurred sporadically throughout the United States beginning in the 1940s, it proved most popular in Alaska and the far Western states, especially in the Morongo Basin area near Twentynine Palms. The Los Angeles Times called the phenomena ‘one of the strangest land rushes in Southern California history.’ Hundreds of applicants flooded regional land offices managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) after reading how simple it was to file a claim. Still, jackrabbit homesteading did not take off until the end of World War II when building materials again became readily available and gas and tire rationing had ended.” Kim Stringfellow’s Jackrabbit Homestead, 2009