We Bought An ABANDONED Homestead... cabins, trucks, & treasure? 

What should we do with our Abandoned Homestead? Airbnb...campsites...haunted cabin tours?! 👻 // Shop ENGWE shrsl.com/46fk2 to get $100 off and have an opportunity to WIN an X E-bike!

Kudos to Courtney for knowing what a timing light looks like.

This is like finding a time capsule. There's nothing more fun to me than searching abandoned buildings and areas for old treasures. I love old rusty tools and more so, this would be fun as heck to explore. I'm going to love the videos from this cleanup and transformation.

Courtney deserves an award for knowing that was a timing light!

It’s a pretty common story: the property was homesteaded twice, separated by 15-20 years as each owner tried to build their dream home “on the cheap”, rather than the right way. One ended in fire, the other probably in bankruptcy and foreclosure, as any surviving relatives just washed their hands of the whole fiasco. Best bet is to bring in a hazmat rated waste removal company to truck all the barrels, fridges, and other junk out, then bulldoze and burn pile anything wood that remains. As for future use of those areas on the land, a seasonal tent and small RV campsite with off-grid electrical hookups and properly plumbed toilets on a septic system is one possibility. Depending how active you’d want to be with passive income, setting up a small general store and playground would take things up a notch. Another option is building out a proper access road loop, and partnering with a timber company to come in and responsibly cut and replant a percentage of the land each year. That way, you rake in the residuals for owning a thriving timberland, the forest is adequately replenished and managed against wildfires, while you also create jobs for the locals.

Reminds me of cleaning up after my father when he died. He moved from the city to the country, packed a trailer full of his stuff and not long after he died. I would say that looks like a family moved to the country, used that cabin for storage, lost the main home and for some reason, abandoned all their stuff.

The pit is the perfect place to buldoze the cabin into.

My wife having grown up in that area and my mother in law still living in the area, I can tell you that meth is a big problem (one of my brother in laws is currently doing time behind that). The condition of the contents of the cabin is indicative of someone who slid into addiction. As for how they got stuff up there . . . dirt roads deteriorate over time. Looking at the condition of the road, it appears that nearly 25 years ago you could easily drive a pickup up there in the summer. Everything you saw there could have been transported there in a pickup. I think you need to figure out if you can get the M1078 up there. If so, start making trips to the dump. The excavator will make quick work of ripping the place down once all of the trash is removed.

Fun tour, Thanks! Beautiful place. Random thoughts: 1) That stuff is all stolen from storage lockers. That's why it's all in totes and it's more than people would normally have. You can probably confirm that by the names on the pill bottles - are they all different? They'd cut a lock, fill their pickup, and head for the hills. 2) I'd grab ALL those baseball cards! Some are worth more than $4M. 3) You might want to quickly sort that trash into a huge pile of the stuff that would burn cleanly for a fun bonfire in the snow.

I love seeing you guys taking a break from the grind - that is, grinding down rocks for your road - to have some fun. You deserve it for all of your hard work!

I love touring anything old like this. Thank you so much for taking us along.

Congrats; it looks like an awesome location! Can't wait to see what you do with it. Seems like the most valuable find in the second cabin is all the plastic storage totes!

I'm with you, Courtney. The best thing would be to get the story of those who came before. Now that would be really interesting. I, too, love to investigate abandoned places. Thanks for the great video.

Many questions: 1. Does this property connect to your off grid property? 2. Why did you buy this property? 3. What plans do you have for this property? 4. Is the road to your off grid property finished. 5. Did you get the problems fixed on the excavator? 6. Did you get the starting problem fixed on the boat? Many cliff hangers.

You guys are endless source of fun, information and bravado. Kudos you two.

It looks like a place where you would hear banjos playing the theme from Deliverance from somewhere in woods.

I absolutely love your videos. There's so much to explore in each one, and they're always exciting and enjoyable to watch.

If you really wanted to know who lived there, why don't you read the labels on the medicine bottles? I'm sure there are other written records in the tax office, register of deeds, and all the paperwork in the cabin. Thanks.

Every time I see such an abandoned cabin .. it makes me wonder about the lives of the people who lived there. Also gives me perspective about working all your life to accumulate stuff that seem important at the time, but eventually ends up like this when you are gone!

Love to hear the story on how you came to know about this property, and why you decided to buy it.

That spot looks AWESOME!!! I can't wait to see what y'all do with it!

Seeing y’all out and about on the bikes is pretty cool. Seeing all the vegetation got me wondering a bit about fire hazard, then you stopped at the burnt down cabin… You’ve got most of the equipment to clean that mess up… maybe a forestry Mulcher is in your future

Scrap the metal, bonfire what you can, dumpster the rest. Probably need to hook up a utility trailer to a UTV to get the garbage out. People grossly overestimate the value of a stick frame -- especially when they're clearly inadequate for snow load. The walls and roof cost way more. More stuff for the ol' todo list :)

Please do some more exploration of this. It's fascinating! Carefully Riley!

Very interesting. Cast iron skillets are money! Take all that metal to the recycling yard. Might get a few bucks. Cabin is a wreck. Fun to explore and have a yard sale. Or donate to shelter. So many plastic tubs. The trucks would be fun too. "Will it run" video. Cool bikes. Lots of fun. Thanks for sharing

Judging from the stacks of containers, collectibles, and especially the empty coin collection books, it's likely that the big burned-down cabin was the home of someone who frequented storage auctions and used the smaller cabin as the storage building for the overflow of nonvaluable stuff. They might have had a small store or yardsale tent for stuff like that. The main house burned down, and there was no use for the junk left over. Vandals likely ransacked the place looking for anything valuable long after the fire.

Oh wow you two constantly amaze me, thank you again for being such a great couple.

I have to say I love you two and your channel is my favorite by far.

Those batteries were used by telephone companies... its what made home phones work during power outages. They were typically stored in the basement of a phone company sub station.

Yes, it would be fun to search that cabin for a sellable treasure but truly the bulldozer and building a hole for it to be shoved into is probably the best thing. Were there any other mechanical Marvels on the property? This piece of property you purchased sounds very interesting. A metal detector would be fun to!

This video totally surprised me. May the Lord continue to bless your family and give you great ideas for wholesome content. Keep up the great work!

Congratulations 🍾 on your new project. I know that you will do wonders with it. Looks like a LOT OF WORK! Blessings, Carlos ✝️🙏❤️😊🇺🇸

The treasure might be hidden inside the baseball cards pile! Check them!

she is too smart for you she knew it was a timing light LOL

Wow what a amazing find, truly so much to take in. Your so right Courtney it has a incredible history(story) behind the lost homesteads. Maybe you two can do a little research within the city records. Definitely the two houses needs to be demolished in time and the land can be built into something amazing. Im so taken with the view. You two have great future videos and content to explore here. Till next time stay safe. 😊

Isnt it amazing what people leave behind,!! love the bikes, they Are awsome!!!. Great seein you Courtney. just like old times.

I think the second cabin could be a project for a getaway cabin. Thinking you make a road up there and projects galore.

I always enjoy doing adventures like this.

Looking forward to seeing your D-8 crush that shack. If it ever happens, please take us along for the ride. Stay safe.

Burnt down cabin with 2 random steel bathtubs? That almost seems the fallout of a meth lab that had a mishap. I am not pessimistic but that is unfortunately common in rural areas. Especially if it can run off grid. I do however hope there is a better backstory.

I can't believe you kept that a secret this long. There is a lot of cleanup there 😮.

Ive enjoyed your videos a lot. Great couple and good outlook. If you work through your fears of so much, life will be even more fun.

This video was suggested to me several weeks ago… I have gone back and watched every video from looking for properties until now… I am addicted to your channel.

To do up the cabin would be a huge amount of work So knocking the entire thing down is probably for the best. But ... Location, location, location. Absolutely stunning view, especially the view from that dunny.

Hello from the Netherlands. thanks for the video Courtney and Riley . Sincerely Hollandduck

You'll have lots of fun getting big bins up there for haul away. Good luck❤🍀🍀

You have to do the Chevy hood tap about 6” from center to the driver side after pulling the hood release. It might take a few times but those old Chevys always have sticky hoods

Get you site started make it accessible road, don’t build near that cabin but you can scrap metal collect it later. Get a tiny house or mobile house up there on a flat spot and secure the area. Utilities and a well. You are going to need money for this one.

What are you guys gonna do with those wicker dolls hanging near the star-shaped clearing in the woods?

I'm impressed Courtney new what a timing light was...

That truck is the IDENTICAL truck to my first, good ol' 1983 Scottsdale...good times, great vehicle

Music suggestion - dualing banjos

The bottle probably came from Frederick Kimball Stearns pharmaceutical manufacturing business. His house and building still survive in Detroit, MI.

Haha, I've got a 'Big Mouth Billy Bones' set up as a door-bell. It works great.

Build a mess hall at the top with a big deck and a variety of camping spots around then invite scouting organizations in the Summer and rent them out the rest of the year. I'm sure there's an AirBnB type of service for camping.

I saw in the preview that there are some abandoned vehicles on the property. Maybe prepare one for #24HoursofLemons? -Bill in SLO

I guess a future project will be to use the dozer to cut a road to the houses. Then remove the debris and look for more stuff 😳🤔❤️.

This is exactly how we bought our homestead. After 2 years we're still finding cool stuff. That Chevy will run. As weird as it is ours came with 2billy bass lol. Good luck an happy hunting

I agree with the suggestion to check each of the baseball cards. If they had a lot of them at the site, they might have been hobby collectors, so there might be some left behind with value.

I think their needs to be another cabin fire.

Maybe this was the storage area for the family that lived in the other house. Otherwise, the person who was attached to that stuff....oh my, the possible stories swirling around in my head. Good luck on this project, guys

Camper or truckbed topper will make an awesome roof over a chicken coop! If tailgate has a lid to open thats the best place to place the baskets where eggs will be laid. Fencing it in will protect your flock.

Awesome video ❤❤❤

You need to go through all those baseball cards. There are singular cards which you might find that could pay for that whole property. Let alone findingva bunch of 1990 rookies.

The trucks were abandoned because Bigfoot, the cap was tore off the truck because Bigfoot, the homestead was abandoned because Bigfoot.....now that you know you will soon meet SASQUATCH!!!!! WOOOOP BAHAHAHAHA

The woodstove looks like it will clean up all right. Should be some material salvageable from the cabin. I'd start there and build a small place to live, then work on the larger one as time and resources permit. Obviously, both will have to be done from scratch.

You can use the broken plates from the burned down cabin to make a cement table with broken plates. The hoarder house you need to comb through carefully it could have tons of valuable collectables like as examples bottles, knick knacks, promotionally stuff , historical artifacts (both about the cabin/area and in general) trading cards (also some harry potter books and other books is worth alot)

Simple solution. Get a hold of "Homestead Rescue" and have Marty and his kids fix it up for you two. Problem solved!

How big is the property and is it attached to yours?

Man, I so wanted to be there with y'all looking through that house. There is Always something you will find. I found an old porcelain rattle snake that looked real enough and used to scare girls with; it was a great party item. I really think you should tear it down and build a Tall tree house cabin, high enough you can look over the top of the trees. Put large cargo nets inside to sleep or lounge on. You could use your iron skills and make stilts to get up off the ground and create a strong base foundation. The Sky's the limit! Happy Planning

Reminds me of going through old houses when I was a kid. Lots of property to explore.

Wait?! Haven't you already got a homestead??

So much money just in totes. Why save all that, packed away, and leave it? From a logistical point of view, that's gonna be a tough cleanup. Can't leave it (well you could, gross) and it is a great spot for a cabin. The burned out area probably sees too much weather, but is another great "vacation" spot.

Such a cool property. I love exploring the woods.

Still a ton of good scrap materials if you tear down the cabin..definitely toss the osb, but lots of projects you'll be able to salvage the 1x and 2x lumber..shelves, work benches, maybe enough stuff for a good garden shed.

There was someone standing behind you in the homestead doorway at the end 😮

The round battery cells are likely from a telephone company central office facility.

Such beautiful scenery

Looks like a MAJOR cleanup and recycling opportunity - after the new road!!!

Seems like I'm watching ' storage wars ' on History Tv18 .. 😅

It would be so cool if you could find out the history of this place.

Fun times exploring!

Boy, Riley sure is lucky to have connected with Courtney! The stuff you guys get into is...something! LOL Love these vids....keep 'em coming!

Check the sports cards there could potentially be some value there

I think every small community has that obligatory abandoned Ford or Chevy pickup with "Jesus Loves You" across the front of the hood (or bonnet as the Brits like to call it)!

The k10 has vice grip garage vibes definitely do a revival and bring us along. long as it's not locked up I bet it will start up with little effort and drive right outta there

Hmmmm. Back in the mid 70’s I swapped Ford 302’s into a couple of Courier Pick-ups. It was a fun project and even more fun to drive. Have fun on the mountain! Oliver is a Blessed young man.

A lot of thoughts going through my mind. In no specific order. You guys have gone through a lot of growing through the years, and this place could be the spot of your mansion. Think pole barn base like the other one just on a really large scale. Getting rid of all of that junk. If there is access you could try and figure out how much it would cost to get a string of dumpsters up there, or should I saw containers up there to haul it all away. Next thought is as long as it is not against code you could take the big dozer up there and dig a valley, push all the junk into it, and fill it over. Gone! Burn the wood from the cabin. Restoring that Chevy truck may be a passion but... Sawmill and wood splitter in your future? One thing for sure is it is going to be fascination following what you are doing with it. Love this channel, and you guys.

Where to begin? DUMPSTER.

Baseball card are the goldmine!

This was an awesome video

Dig a big hole right next to building. Sell anything possibly and toss the rest in the hole. Then push the building into it. Build a small batch up there or reclaim some land and farm it

At least you've already got the dozer you'll need to start the rehab of those "cabins"...

Looks like a lot of scrap metal to recoup some of your money. 😊

You have a big dozer you clean things up with;) Seems like a few cleanup projects... it's nice to have some roads around the property to explore.

I'm thinking, Get ahold of Treehouse Master and put a nice tree house up there. Looks like some good Trees there to attach to. That would have an amazing view.

Courtney, you don't need to be scared of different places where you didn't go into before. It's only a building. You're probably worried about the wild creatures that could hurt you. Yes, that calls for some concern. You sent in Reckless Riley first to know in the event there were any of them.

Ambition strikes has been one of my favorites but you are becoming a loose cannon, you never finish reporting on anything (Endless water? Road? Shop finish so you could start working on projects) and now you are spending money on many thongs that you dont need. Used construction equiptment will eat you alive with maintenance cost, the definition of a boat is "a hole in the water in which throw money". Dont mean to be negative but stick to the original concept of your post which have been interedting in the past.

Imagine watching a youtube video of someone (or multiple someone's) exploring an abandoned house. Turns out it's your house (which you're sitting in, watching the video), as you remember it and an undetermined amount of time has passed in the video.

That view is gorgeous. You have accomplished so much in a short amount of time. I cant wait to see what you build here. Did you test the soil for contaminants? Maybe you can get a sponsor to test for you, so no money out of your pocket and you guys can share what the soil contains and maybe make it educational for future generations about contaminants and soil. You guys are engaging. Have fun, be safe.