Sod Collier

Sod, Ida Mae, and possibly a granddaughter and great-grandchild

Quick Facts

Significance:

Homesteader

Place of Birth:

Kentucky

Date of Birth:

February 29, 1880

Place of Death:

North Little Rock, AR

Date of Death:

November 5, 1981

Place of Burial:

Leslie, AR

Cemetery Name:

Elberta Cemetery

In the late 1920s, Solomon ‘Sod’ Collier and his family crammed into a Ford pickup truck and left Kentucky to seek a new life and new opportunities in the Ozarks. Under the Homestead Act of 1862, the family obtained some of the least sought-after property along the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas. Many earlier settlers had claimed more desirable land by the river, leaving only less fertile ridgetops behind.

While the land may not have been desirable, the Colliers got to work. Throughout the Great Depression, the Collier family demonstrated the self-sufficiency needed in tough times. Sod built their home by hewing logs and putting clay mud between them to seal the spaces. The Colliers also collected rainwater from the roof into a cistern in the front of the house. This prevented a walk to the spring each day.

The tasks were many to improve the land under the Homestead Act—and to survive. Besides building the home, land was cultivated. A smokehouse and barns were erected. The family grew corn, oats, peaches, various vegetables, pumpkins, apples, and beans to enjoy and preserve for the winter. Sod’s wife, Ida, gardened on the property and foraged medicinal plants. Sod raised hogs and cattle for meat, and also hunted and fished along the Buffalo.

Buffalo River farmers like the Colliers were dedicated. Their endless hard work and practicality created a life and legacy in the Arkansas Ozarks. The Colliers fulfilled the requirements of the Homestead Act, and the land became theirs in 1937. The Colliers lived at the property until 1961, with no water or electricity. You can still visit the cabin today at Tyler Bend and imagine what the simpler life was like during trying times.