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Commentary: A Revised Appalachian Homestead Act – Reclaiming Land and Restoring Hope [1]
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Date: 2025-08-12
Introduction
In 2016, I proposed in the Daily Yonder an Appalachian Homestead Act—a plan to redistribute land from bankrupt coal companies and absentee owners to local residents for housing, farming, sustainable forestry, and pioneering economic ventures.
Nearly a decade later, the case for that vision has only strengthened. Central Appalachia—particularly the coalfield counties of Eastern Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, Eastern Tennessee, and Southern West Virginia—remains what the President’s Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) report characterized in 1964 as “a region apart—geographically and statistically.”
The coalfields have given much to the nation—its timber, its coal, its labor—yet wealth extraction and political neglect have eroded both the region’s land and its hope. As I argued in another Daily Yonder article, Appalachia’s support for President Trump and MAGA isn’t simply about cultural grievance—it is a desperate reaction to a century of policies that depleted the region’s commons: its natural resources, civic trust, economic dignity, and most importantly, the people’s trust and hope that was expressed when President Lyndon Johnson pledged in 1965 that the Appalachian Regional Development Act would launch the region on “the bright highway of hope.”
The urgency of this vision has been underscored by nature itself. Significant flooding on July 18, 2025, has again displaced families in Southwest Virginia’s Dante area, with 21 people forced from their homes in Russell County alone. This latest deluge joins a relentless pattern of climate-driven disasters that have made flood-prone hollows increasingly uninhabitable, from the devastating 2022 Eastern Kentucky floods to the repeated inundations that now seem to arrive with each major storm system.
Despite decades of federal investment, the challenges persist. The Appalachian Regional Commission’s most recent data shows that while the region has made progress, with poverty rates declining from historic highs, significant disparities remain. The region’s median household income stands at only 82% of the national average, and many counties continue to experience population decline and economic distress. Central Appalachia continues to face high poverty rates.
According to ARC, Nearly 17% of Central Appalachians live in poverty, compared to 12% nationally. In Appalachian Kentucky, the poverty rate is nearly double the national average, with some counties exceeding 30% and even reaching as high as 45%. Child poverty remains especially acute, with nearly 1 in 5 children living below the poverty line.
A Vision for Renewal
Imagine homes and gardens built on higher ground above floodplains, especially in areas devastated by the deadly floods of July 2022. Picture former strip mines transformed into productive farms, solar installations, and recreational areas. Envision young families returning to communities their grandparents were forced to leave, bringing new energy while honoring old traditions.
This vision isn’t some hazy dream; it’s already beginning in isolated projects across the mountains. The Appalachian Land Ownership Task Force laid important groundwork in the 1980s. Community projects are already underway, and numerous local land trusts have demonstrated what’s possible when communities control their own development. But to succeed at scale, these efforts need a visionary framework, careful coordination, and sustained federal and state backing.
The timing is right for such an initiative. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides funding mechanisms. The shift toward remote work opens new possibilities for rural areas. Growing interest in local food systems and sustainable agriculture creates market opportunities. Climate change adaptation makes environmental restoration an urgent priority.
The infrastructure for transformation already exists. West Virginia’s land banking legislation from 2014 and Virginia’s Land Bank Entities Act provide the legal foundation. Kentucky’s successful Louisville Land Bank Authority demonstrates scalable models that could be expanded statewide. Rather than starting from scratch, a 21st-century Homestead Act could leverage these proven institutions, providing them with the resources and expanded authorities needed to tackle rural land acquisition and community development on a regional scale.
The Case for Land Reform
A modern Appalachian Homestead Act would begin with land—reclaiming it for the public good and local control. Coal companies alone hold 1.3 million acres in Eastern Kentucky, much of it now idle, degraded, and taxed at scandalously low rates. Add in underused federal lands and absentee-held timber property across the coalfields, and we’re looking at millions of acres ripe for return to the people who live there.
The scope of corporate land concentration is staggering. The Nature Conservancy’s 2019 purchase of more than 250,000 acres across Southeast Kentucky, Northeast Tennessee, and Southwest Virginia represents just a fraction of the vast land holdings that have kept mountaineers separated from the earth beneath their feet for over a century.
In West Virginia alone, the North Carolina-based Heartwood Forestland Fund owns 500,366 acres across 31 counties, making it the state’s largest landowner. Kentucky River Properties holds approximately 272,000 acres across Perry, Letcher, Leslie, Knott, Harlan, Breathitt, and Clay Counties—counties that have been among the most flood-ravaged in recent years.
In Wise County, a heavily mined region in southwest Virginia, 45% of the land is owned by corporations. Two major entities, Penn Virginia (58,000 acres) and Heartwood Forestland Fund (28,000 acres), alone control about a third of the county’s surface land. The ownership patterns are similar in West Virginia, particularly in the southern counties, as well as Eastern Tennessee.
Meanwhile, about a fifth of West Virginia’s 15.5 million acres remains publicly owned, mostly by state and federal governments, representing enormous potential for strategic land redistribution. The federal government remains the largest single landowner throughout Appalachia, controlling vast national forest and park holdings that could serve as the foundation for a new approach to mountain community development.
A major coal and timber landowner in SWVA has said they were willing to sell tracts of 10,000 acres for as low as $400 per acre. That price reflects the virtual end of coal mining in the area and the low prices currently for lands that have already been timbered multiple times. This isn’t a utopian dream.
Building Above the Floodplain: The Beshear Model
Governor Andy Beshear’s response to the 2022 Eastern Kentucky floods offers a compelling model for what a larger Homestead Act might achieve. In April 2025, Beshear joined local leaders to help raise walls on new homes being built at the Skyview high-ground neighborhood in Hazard, announcing more than $8 million in funding for Perry County. Seven high-ground communities are being constructed in Letcher, Floyd, Knott, and Perry Counties.
The success of these initiatives demonstrates that mountaineers don’t need charity; they need access to land that won’t wash away with the next big rain. We cannot continue to rebuild in the same flood-prone hollows, hoping that this time will be different. Coal and timber companies have been noticeably absent in offering lands for Beshear’s projects. They need some prodding.
Leveraging Land Banks for Transformation
Land banks already exist—but lack the resources or federal mandate to meet the scale of the current crisis. Rural land banks—already enabled in many Appalachian states—can be used to acquire bankrupt properties, resolve title issues, and redistribute land to residents, returnees, and new settlers. The states of Central Appalachia already possess the legal framework for large-scale land acquisition through established land banking legislation.
West Virginia passed comprehensive land bank enabling legislation in 2014, with the West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation operating as the statewide land bank. Virginia enacted its Land Bank Entities Act, providing localities with the authority to establish land banks for acquiring vacant and abandoned properties. Kentucky’s land banking authority, demonstrated through Louisville’s successful Land Bank program, could be expanded statewide to serve rural Appalachian counties.
These existing land banks provide the perfect mechanism for implementing an expanded Homestead Act. Rather than creating entirely new institutions, the federal government could provide substantial funding and expanded authorities to these established entities, allowing them to acquire not just vacant urban lots but also distressed rural properties, including abandoned mining lands and tax-delinquent parcels throughout the region.
Land banks already possess streamlined acquisition powers that could be enhanced to purchase distressed mining properties at fair market value. With many coal companies continuing to struggle financially, regional land banks could coordinate to acquire higher-elevation properties suitable for residential and agricultural development. The West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation’s existing expertise in managing rural properties makes it an ideal model for expansion.
Digitizing county land records and enforcing fair taxation on coal and timber lands would generate revenue for schools and clinics long starved by corporate tax avoidance. The Nature Conservancy’s 253,000-acre holdings in Central Appalachia demonstrate how large-scale land management can work; the next step is ensuring that benefits flow to local communities, not just outside institutions.
As Ron Eller, retired professor of Appalachian Studies at the University of Kentucky and former Whisman Scholar at ARC, has long argued in interviews and in his book “Uneven Ground: Appalachia Since 1945,” true regional renewal requires more than infrastructure and outside investment. “Struggling regions of the country need land reform, including the reduction of absentee land ownership and the promotion of alternative land use.”
Eller’s research highlights how generations of absentee corporate and elite ownership have drained Appalachia of its wealth and stifled local development. He emphasizes that growth without real development—without addressing who owns and benefits from the land—will never be enough to reverse the region’s fortunes.
Environmental and Economic Opportunity
The scale of land and environmental destruction in the coalfields is staggering. Over 2,000 miles of headwater streams have been buried by mountaintop removal mining. A 2010 study from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Nature Conservancy, and Downstream Strategies, entitled “The Landscape of Coal: A Retrospective Assessment of Coal Surface Mining in Appalachia,” found that just 6.3% of former strip mine sites yielded verifiable economic development. Yet, that same land can hold the seeds of renewal: reforestation, carbon markets, eco-tourism, and sustainable wood production can create thousands of jobs while restoring ecosystems.
While AppHarvest, an Eastern Kentucky produce-growing venture using innovative greenhouses, failed, Oasthouse Ventures, a UK-based company specializing in low-carbon greenhouses, plans to invest $104.8 million to establish its first U.S. controlled environment agriculture operation in Carroll County, Virginia. They intend to build a 65-acre greenhouse at Wildwood Commerce Park, which will produce and package over 45 million pounds of tomatoes annually and employ 120 people.
Former corporate lands could be prioritized for fruit tree orchards—apples, peaches, pears, and cherries that could serve both subsistence and commercial purposes while helping heal scarred landscapes. Homesteaders could participate in reforestation efforts using blight-resistant American chestnuts, creating both ecological restoration and potential future timber revenue. These trees once provided crucial food for livestock and wildlife while producing valuable lumber.
The transition from coal presents both challenges and opportunities. As the nation moves toward renewable energy, former mining sites can be transformed into solar farms, wind installations, and battery storage facilities.
Addressing Population Decline
Central Appalachia has experienced significant population loss over the past decade, though the exact figures vary by how the region is defined. The broader Appalachian region actually grew by four percent between 2010 and 2020, but the growth was concentrated in metropolitan areas, while rural coalfield counties continued to lose population.
In the ten leading coal-producing counties of Eastern Kentucky, total population dropped from 334,300 in 1980 to 245,300 in 2020—a long-term decline of over 26%. An updated Homestead Act could help reverse this selective outmigration by making it viable and more attractive to return home or relocate to the region.
The program should offer relocation grants of $10,000 and tax abatements to returnees and newcomers who commit to a decade of residence and contribute to rebuilding efforts. Expanding successful small business loan programs like those administered by the Mountain Association would provide additional support. Creating job pipelines in renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, and outdoor recreation—sectors that align with the land and the values of those who love it—is essential.
Democratic Governance and Community Control
Central to this vision is putting decision-making power in the hands of Appalachian communities, not Washington agencies. That means investing in local development districts, cooperatives, and nonprofits that already understand their neighbors’ needs. It means funding democratic planning tools and transparent budgeting so that communities can guide their futures.
This approach recognizes that sustainable development must be community-driven. External solutions imposed from above have repeatedly failed in Appalachia. The most successful development initiatives have been those that built on local assets, respected local knowledge, and ensured local control.
Ambitious Land Reform Plan Could Transform Appalachian Economy
How would this be accomplished? I envision a comprehensive land reform proposal that would aim to redistribute nearly 3 million acres across Appalachia, focusing on reclaiming surface-mined land, land owned by coal and timber companies that is mostly undisturbed, and underused federal properties, like in some of the national forests, to create new economic opportunities in a region long dependent on coal mining.
A federal-state trust administered by the Appalachian Regional Commission and state governments would purchase these lands at reduced costs through auctions and negotiations with bankrupt or ailing coal companies, working in coordination with existing land banking infrastructure to streamline acquisitions and ensure effective management.
Initial funding of $100 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would support the acquisition, supplemented by state contributions and private partnerships. The program would offer 10 to 40-acre plots to eligible participants at nominal cost, with 10-year property tax exemptions to encourage settlement. If divided into 40-acre parcels, Kentucky’s 1.3 million acres could theoretically support up to 32,500 homesteads, though environmental assessments would likely reduce this number significantly.
Eligible participants would include current Appalachian residents, people who previously left the region, and newcomers committed to long-term residency. The program offers substantial incentives, including $10,000 relocation grants, low-interest loans for homestead development, five-year state income tax exemptions for those committing to 10-year residency, and subsidized high-speed internet access for remote workers.
All developments would prioritize higher-elevation properties suitable for residential and agricultural development, incorporating modern stormwater management and creating resilient communities that work with natural water flow rather than against it. Every homestead community would be wired with high-speed broadband, enabling remote work opportunities and connection to global markets for locally produced goods and services.
Training programs would equip participants with skills in sustainable agriculture, forestry, renewable energy installation, and tourism development. The initiative specifically targets the region’s economic transformation by encouraging small-scale farming, livestock grazing, sustainable forestry, and affordable housing development.
Community involvement would be central to the program’s governance through democratically controlled land trusts designed to prevent speculative sales and ensure long-term community benefit. Local development districts would manage applications and tailor implementation to regional needs, with priority given to high-poverty areas. Homestead communities would be encouraged to form cooperatives for equipment sharing, bulk purchasing, marketing agricultural products, and providing services. These cooperatives could leverage the region’s existing entrepreneurial spirit and tradition of mutual aid.
Economic diversification strategies would include developing agritourism operations such as farm stays and craft workshops, establishing processing facilities for local food products, and facilitating renewable energy projects. Some reclaimed land would be designated for public recreational use, including parks and hiking trails.
The proposal acknowledges significant challenges, including infrastructure needs for rural homesteads, market access for small-scale operations, environmental remediation of former mining sites, and the importance of respecting existing communities. Success would require coordination with infrastructure programs, development of local food systems and cooperative marketing, and careful environmental assessment of potential sites.
Comprehensive monitoring would track job creation, income growth, population trends, and environmental restoration, with annual reviews allowing for policy adjustments based on results and changing economic conditions. The program would aim to demonstrate measurable impact through transparent reporting to secure ongoing funding and to maintain public support.
Political and Economic Feasibility
A 21st-century Homestead Act offers compelling advantages for political leaders across the spectrum. For conservatives, it emphasizes individual responsibility, property ownership, and free market solutions while reducing long-term government dependency. For progressives, it addresses inequality, environmental restoration, and climate adaptation while empowering marginalized communities. Few things are more American than homesteading.
Land banks already demonstrate cost-effective property acquisition and management, with proven track records in stabilizing property values and returning properties to productive use. Rather than repeatedly rebuilding in flood zones—an increasingly expensive proposition as climate change intensifies—strategic relocation to higher ground represents sound long-term fiscal policy. The program would generate significant economic activity through construction, land development, and the creation of new small businesses and cooperatives.
Existing land banking infrastructure provides ready-made implementation mechanisms. Federal agencies, including FEMA, USDA, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, could partner with established state and local land banks, building on proven models rather than creating new bureaucracies. The Center for Community Progress notes that land banks in rural areas like West Virginia already demonstrate unique capabilities for managing large-scale rural property portfolios—exactly what an expanded Homestead Act would require.
Conclusion: A Proving Ground for Democracy
Appalachia’s value isn’t in the cost ledger. It’s in what it teaches about resilience, solidarity, and the damage done by extractive policies. The region has survived boom and bust cycles, corporate exploitation, and political neglect. Its people have maintained strong communities and cultural traditions despite economic hardship. Anyone who thinks farming is impossible in the coalfields should visit one of the many farmers’ markets scattered all across the area.
The Homestead Act won’t fix everything. But it offers a focused, achievable path toward restoring the land, rebuilding trust, and reviving the commons—the shared foundation of democratic life. It represents a different model of development, one based on local control, environmental stewardship, and broadly shared prosperity rather than extraction and concentration of wealth.
The program should be understood as an investment in democracy itself. By putting land and decision-making power in the hands of ordinary people, it strengthens the social fabric that democracy depends on. It offers an alternative to the populist authoritarianism that has found fertile ground in regions abandoned by conventional politics.
If Vice President J.D. Vance and other political leaders and Silicon Valley intellectuals are serious about governing differently, as they have said, they have no better place to start. Appalachia is not a backwater. It can be a proving ground where the future of American democracy will be tested. The coalfields and people of Appalachia don’t need another handout. They need their land back, their voice restored, and partners willing to work as hard as they do.
The mountains have always been home to people who knew how to make something from nothing. Give them land they can count on, and they’ll build communities that can weather any storm. A revived Homestead Act won’t fix every injustice. But it offers a concrete, achievable path toward rebuilding civic trust and reviving the commons — the shared foundation of democratic life.
The question isn’t whether Appalachia can be renewed. The question is whether we have the political will to support that renewal on the scale and timeline it requires. The land is there. The people are there. The need is there. What’s missing is the commitment to make it happen.
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