The Prairie House Blog
I’ve had an idea in my head for several years about a business I’d like to start. It has always been a dream of mine to be a business owner and create a lifestyle brand that represented many of my different interests. It wasn’t until this year that I decided to go for it. With a little encouragement, bravery, and life changes headed my way, I launched Prairie House to sell my farm-raised goods.
The name came from the house I moved in 2022. I moved a small farmhouse, that used to sit across the road from my dad’s place, to an old family farm that was in need of some love. The house on our old farmstead needed to be demolished after a tree fell on it during the 2020 derecho, causing irreparable water damage. Since it was my dream to live on this farm, I had been drumming up ideas for building a new house there. My dad’s neighbors were planning to build a new house and wanted someone to move their small ranch-style home. The house once belonged to an old lady named Ruth, who was my family’s lifelong neighbor and a staple of my childhood. She was an artist and a farm wife who had a weakness for barn cats. Her husband passed away before I could remember, but my grandma helped and took care of Ruth up until the end of her life. Given the nostalgia my family had for this house, taking on the challenge of moving it just felt right. Everything kind of fell into place. It felt like divine intervention, and I knew this opportunity was something special.
On the old farm, I decided to place my new-found home facing 10 acres of CRP grassland off to the west. Since I was a kid, I envisioned myself walking out my front door and watching the sunset over this “prairie”. I imagined the natural landscape looked something like it when my ancestors settled this area and broke the prairie open to farm. It was fun to pretend I was looking back in time, but I was also thinking about all the cows I could graze on it someday.
So here I am today, looking out the window of my Prairie House at the farm I’ve built. Now I get to dream up new dreams to replace the ones that have already come true. It was not an easy journey, but it was one with great purpose. I can’t wait to pass on to my children the history of this home and the inspiration it gave me. Prairie House is where the heritage of the past touches the visions and hope of the future for places like mine all over rural America. Thanks for being here.
