Activities

Elinore Pruitt had to build a homestead when she arrived in Wyoming. Now it’s your turn! You get to make a scale drawing of what Elinore’s homestead may have looked like. Use the following guidelines to create a scale diagram. You may want to use graph paper to help you keep your homestead to scale.

1. Create an area of land that would be equal to 320 acres. Label Elinore’s 160 acres and Mr. Stewart's 160 acres.
2. Decide where on the land to place a house that is no larger than 16 by 20 ft.
3. Include in your diagram
• Elinore’s garden patch.
• A barn.
• A horse corral.

It is up to you to decide how much space you would use for the garden, barn, and corral. Remember that the garden grew a great deal of the food they ate and the barn and corral were essential to the care of the horses that worked their land. How much land do you think each item should get? How necessary was each item to the homestead? Make sure to label these items in your diagram.

1. Write a paragraph justifying why you arranged the homestead the way you did. What benefits does your arrangement have over other possible arrangements?
2. Consider this—today most farmers tend to talk about their land in terms of “sections.” One full section contains 640 acres, a half section contains 320 acres, and quarter section contains 160 acres. Which one of these would describe the amount of land Elinore had? Why do you think that farmers today have much more land than those of Elinore’s time? Explain.