Free Land
From Steal This Wiki
Return to original Table of Contents
Contents |
Free Land
In today's world, it takes a little more work for someone to own property without becoming a bitch to financial institutions or the Government. Furthermore, because Amerikans are worrysome creatures, there are many restrictions on what can and cannot be done to a piece of land. In quite a few areas a home must be of a certain square footage to "keep up property values" (read: more tax money for the slimeballs in StateGov)
So, in all actuality, it will take about $10,000 in cash or loans for a usable large parcel of land out in the sticks, ranging from 1-10 acres, in amerika.
eBay can be a good place for the frugal Revolutionary to look for cheap land. Be forewarned: Many of the properties listed are out in the desert, only accessible by boat, or have no real farmable land, and the nearest source of water may be miles away.
You can still try the free mining claim, it appears that this frontier option is only left open for megacorps today with good legal departments, we are doubtful on the option of camping out on the land, the laws as we read them seem to imply actual documented mining activity.
Free Kansas land
Kansas has a program to reverse the negative growth trend. http://kansasfreeland.com/
Adverse Possession
Adverse possession AKA squatters rights is an ancient common law legal process of acquiring a piece of property belonging to another party after spending a specified amount of undisturbed time acting like you are the owner and making certain improvements on the property. This law covers both rural and urban properties. If the family of a passed relative forgets about a property or you move in quickly and clean up an abandoned house as though you had purchased it there is no reason that anyone would suspect anything until several years later when you make your claim with the county or state for full legal title. It might even be possible to assure repayment for your improvements and place a lien on a property in case the owners ever return and demand the property before you can make your claim. Unfortunately one of the obligations of an owner is paying property taxes, but to make finding a property easier look on the county or state unpaid property tax rolls, this might help you narrow your search for abandoned property. So paying taxes is one good way to document that you are using the property, the good news is most counties will happily accept tax checks from both parties usually not telling the old owner what you are doing.
What is important is that you meet the following conditions:
- You must actually occupy and use the property in the way a real owner would.
- Your occupation must be open and obvious, stealthy squats do not qualify.
- Your occupation must be exclusive, the current title holder must not concurrently enjoy any use of the property and you must be the only person openly acting as the landowner or landlord.
- Your possession must be hostile as in it must not be with the permission of the property owner, and hostile to his interest in the property.
- You must be able to document that you have been acting as the landowner for the full period required by law without interruption.
- Claim to legal title must be either based on what is assumed to be legal title or squatters rights as established in state law.
- The statutory period or statute of limitations as established by law must have been met, it might be possible to count a previous squatters occupation and transfer to you as part of the legally required total occupation period.
A property owner may make the following defences to block your claim to title in squatted lands or property by the following:
- Permissive use, you had permission to use or live on the land from the owner.
- Public lands may be exempt from adverse possession rights.
- The owner may make a defence that you did not make sufficient use of the property to establish your claim.
- The owner may claim that he or others also acted in the manner of a property owner during your period of adverse possession.
- It may be claimed that your possession did meet the full required statutory period or that there was an interruption of your occupation.
Because you will likely assume tax responsibility it might be better for some squatters to claim easement rights to dwell and use the property while leaving the landlord in actual possession with tax liability. If he is somehow able to drive you off for a specified period of time after you win adverse possession without you suing him for damages or filing a complaint he regains full rights to the land under the same legal theory.
Original Free Land 1970
Despite what you may have heard, there is still some rural land left in Amerika. The only really free land is available in Alaska and remote barren areas of the western states. The latest information in this area is found in a periodic publication called Our Public Lands, available from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. 20402. It costs $1.00 for a subscription. Also contact the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Washington, D.C. 20240 and ask for information on "homesteading." By the time this book is out though, the Secretary of the Interior's friends in the oil companies might have stolen all the available free land. Being an oil company is about the easiest way to steal millions. Never call it stealing though, always refer to it as "research and development."
Continental United States has no good free land that we know of, but there are some very low prices in areas suited for country communities. Write to School of Living, Freeland, Maryland, for their newspaper Green Revolution with the latest information in this area. Canada has free land available, and the Canadian government will send you a free list if you write to the Department of Land and Forests, Parliament Building, Quebec City, Canada. Also write to the Geographical Branch, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, Parliament Building, Quebec City, Canada. Correspondence can be carried out with the Communications Group, 2630 Point Grey Road, Vancouver 8, British Columbia, Canada, for advice on establishing a community in Canada. The islands off the coast of British Columbia, its western region and the area along the Kootenai River are among the best locations.
If you just want to rip off some land, there are two ways to do it; openly or secretly. If you are going to do it out front, look around for a piece of land that's in dispute, which has its sovereignty in question-islands and deltas between the U.S. and Canada, or between the U.S. and Mexico, or any number of other borderline lands. You might even consider one of the abandoned oil-drilling platforms, which are fair game under high seas salvage laws. The possibilities are endless.
If you intend to do it quietly, you will want a completely different type of location. Find a rugged area with lots of elbow room and plenty of places to hide, like the Rocky Mountains, Florida swamps, Death Valley, or New York City. Put together a tight band of guerrillas and do your thing. With luck you will last forever.
If you just want to camp out or try some hermit living in the plushest surroundings available, you'll do best to head for one of the national parks. Since the parks are federal property, there's very little the local fuzz can do about you, and the forest rangers are generally the live-and-let-live types, although there have been increasing reports of long-hairs being vamped on by Smokey the Pig, as in Yosemite. You can get a complete list from National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240. The following is a list of some good ones:
- ALABAMA-Russell Cave National Monument, Bridgeport 35740
- ARIZONA-Grand Canyon National Park, Box 129, Grand Canyon 86023
- ARKANSAS-Hot Springs National Park, Box 1219, Hot Springs 71901
- CALIFORNIA-Yosemite National Park, Box 577, Yosemite 95389*
- COLORADO-Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, 80517
- FLORIDA-Everglades National Park, Box 279, Homestead 33030
- IDAHO-Boise National Forest, 413 Idaho Street, Boise 83702
- ILLINOIS-Shawnee National Forest,Harrisburg National Bank Building, Harrisburg 62946
- KENTUCKY-Mammoth Cave National Park, Mammoth Cave 42259
- LOUISIANA-Kisatchie National Forest, 2500 Shreveport Hwy., Pineville 71360
- MAINE-Acadia National Park, Box 338, Bar Harbor 04609
- MARYLAND-Assateague Island National Seashore, Rte. 2 Box 111, Berlin 21811
- MASSACHUSETTS-Cape Cod National Seashore, South Wellfleet 02663
- MICHIGAN-Hiawatha National Forest, Post Office Building, Escanaba 49829
- MISSOURI-Mark Twain National Forest, 304 Pershing St., Springfield 65806
- NEVADA-Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 601 Nevada Hwy, Boulder City 89005
- NEW MEXICO-Aztec Ruins National Monument, Route 1, Box 101, Aztec 87410
- NEW YORK-Fire Island National Seashore c/o New York City National Park Service Group, 28 E. 20th St., New York, NY 10003
- NORTH CAROLINA-Wright Brothers National Memorial Box 457, Manteo 27954
- OKLAHOMA-Platt National Park, Box 201, Sulphur 73086
- OREGON-Crater Lake National Park, Box 7, Crater Lake 97604
- UTAH-Bryce Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon 84717
- WYOMING-Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone Park 83020
This summer Yosemite forest rangers tried to evict a group of Yippies from their encampment. The Yippies rioted in the valley, spooked the tourists, burned cars and fought for their right to stay.
If you're in Canada, Stanley Park is a favorite for people living rough, although in the hot summer there is always a worry about fires starting, and there is often a crackdown to move people out of the area.
Earth People's Park is an endeavor to purchase land and allow people to come and live for free. They function as a clearing house for people that want to donate land and those who wish to settle. They own 600 acres in northern Vermont and are trying to raise money to buy more. Write to Earth People's Park, P.0. Box 313, 1230 Grant Ave., San Francisco, California 94133.
People's Parks are sprouting up all over as people reclaim the land being ripped off by universities, factories, and corrupt city planning agencies. The model is the People's Park struggle in Berkeley during the spring of 1969. The people fought to defend a barren parking lot they had turned into a community center with grass, swings, free-form sculpture and gardens. The University of California, with the aid of Ronald Reagan and the Berkeley storm troopers, fought with guns, clubs and tear gas to regain the land from the outlaw people. The pigs killed James Rector and won an empty victory. For now the park is fenced off, tarred over and converted into unused basketball courts and unused parking lots. Not one person has violated the oath never to set foot on the site. It stands, cold and empty, two blocks north of crowded Telegraph Avenue. If the revolution does not survive, all the land will perish under the steam roller of imperialism. People's Death Valley will happen in our lifetime.
2009 Corrections:
Earth Peoples Park, previously located in far Northeastern Vermont in the border town of Norton, is no longer in existence. Due to alleged marijauna cultivation and other nefarious activities, the federal government filed a forfeiture action against the property in the early 1990's, ultimately sezing the property and evicting any residents still remaining. The 592 acre parcel was later turned over to the State of Vermont for recreational use, and is now known as Black Turn Brook State Forest. One is still allowed public access and use of the land under primitive camping rules, however, all permanent structures were removed or otherwise leveled years ago.
The Berkeley People's Park reopened in 1972 and is accepted by the University as a park. However, activists and police still clash over it sometimes, and the fascists from the '60s have no regrets for their actions, not even the murder. There is a very good article at the moment on the English Wikipedia.
