During the depression years of the 1930s one of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs was a experiment in cooperative living called Subsistence Homesteads. Each family was provided with a house, outbuildings, and enough land to grow food for themselves. An outside job was necessary. It was hoped that businesses would located near the communities. The community of Cumberland Homesteads was made up of distressed farmers, unemployed miners, unemployed textile workers, and a small number of struggling professionals. The men contributed “sweat equity” by helping build the houses and public buildings. Successful businesses never developed and by the end of WWII the government ended the experiment. Most of the original 251 houses are still in use today.
A small museum and gift shop are housed in the old Homesteads offices which had an octagon water tower in the center. A winding stairway leads to lookout on the top. A restored house, located about a mile away, is opened to tour.
The museum is accessible. The tower is not. The house is not accessible due to steps.
The are seven parking spaces directly in front of the museum. This is the only parking. RVs will fit but when the spaces are filled there’s no other parking for either cars or RVs. Museum
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