Prairie Homestead

The Prairie Homestead is a sod house built in 1909 on the South Dakota plains, featuring thick walls made from compressed earth blocks and a roof of prairie grass. The structure remains largely original, with outbuildings and grounds that show the full layout of an early homestead farm.

Ed Brown and his wife established this homestead in 1909, during the final wave of settlement in western South Dakota. The timing places it at the end of an era when thousands of families were transforming the prairie into agricultural land.

The structure reflects how early settlers adapted to the Great Plains by using available materials like prairie grass and earth to create their homes. Walking through it, visitors understand the practical choices people made when resources were limited.

The homestead sits along South Dakota Highway 240 and is easily reached from the town of Interior, where visitors can walk through both the house and surrounding farm areas. Plan to spend a couple of hours exploring the building and grounds to get a full sense of how the property functioned.

This is one of the last fully intact sod houses remaining in South Dakota, offering an authentic view of life during that settlement era. A colony of prairie dogs on the grounds adds another layer to the experience, living much as they did when the Browns first arrived.