Digital Collections @ St. Lawrence University

Back to the Land Research Collection

Journals, photographs, newsletters, ephemera, interviews and poetry created by back-to-the-landers of the St. Lawrence River Valley and by those who have documented the movement.

Background

Beginning in the 1960s, St. Lawrence County, New York, was one of dozens of rural destinations in the United States to attract the attention of back-to-the-landers, a broad movement of mostly young people seeking anti-materialistic lifestyles in rural settings. The first back-to-the-landers established communes and individual homesteads, experimented with alternatives to the cash economy, and tried to sustain themselves through farming and other land-based ventures.

Participate!

We are actively seeking materials to add to the Back to the Land Research Collection. We are especially interested in locating items from communes or homesteads that are not currently represented. Please consider participating.....