For those who are interested in making a strategic relocation to a safe area and are concerned that the time may be short, I have something that might be ready made to order. I am currently selling a house that I built during the eighties which was strategically located and built for survival, and security under the worst scenario, as well as luxurious living in a beautiful secluded location. It normally takes a lot of time and planning to relocate to a safe area and to design and build a home that would meet the requirements for the frightening times that I believe are coming.
The 3900 sq ft house (Tecumseh, MO.) sits on top of a hill overlooking Norfork lake with convenient lake access. It features 5 bedrooms, sunroom, family room, 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms plus 3 additional rooms one of which has plumbing and septic connections for a third bathroom. The lower underground level is separated from the upper level by concrete ceiling, 18 in. earth and concrete floor making it extremely efficient (little or no AC needed in summer) and secure. It has white marble floors an antique wood cook stove. There is also a concrete reinforced storm (or fallout) shelter in the rear. Special features include an emergency power generator (LP gas) capable of running the entire house, 3 water sources ( community well, private well and a 15,000 gal cistern collecting rainwater from the roof), complete water purification system (water softener, iron filter, and distiller). The yard is professionally landscaped and has a large garden plot terraced with railroad ties ( 3ft deep with rich compost and black loam) and a fruit orchard. Other features include: spacious decks and lower patio, play area swing set, stonework surrounds in-ground pool with small upper pool for waterfall effect, aviary attached to rear of house, pet kennel, and in ground lawn sprinkler system.
The location is also a very important consideration and the property is located in the scenic Ozark hills of southern MO five miles from the Arkansas border, 30 min. north of Mountain Home, AR. and 30 min. west of West Plains, MO.. Mountain Home is a small town flanked by Norfork Lake on one side and Bull Shoals Lake on the other. The community has become a very popular retirement area because of the low crime, traditional American values and the clean clear lakes attract fishermen from all over the country. The area is approximately 120mi north of Little Rock, 140mi northwest of Memphis, and over 150mi south of St. Louis etc., so strategically speaking should be a relatively safe area.
So you might ask, "why am I selling this place?" The answer is that following my divorce, I moved into the house that I bought for my parents where I am now living and looking after my mother. We are right on Norfork Lake and I have made many of the same preparations here and I therefore don't need the second house. Anyone interested may reply to this post or Email me; rcc@mtnhome.com or call 8704885449 ask for Richard Campbell.
In view of recent events, I thought an update would be in order regarding the house that I am selling with more detail about it's survival characteristics. I urge anyone serious about relocating to read my earlier post. In that post I felt that time was short and now I think it has all but run out. I can't possibly emphasize this enough. To relocate, to decide on a safe location, to move there, to design and build a safe home, to get prepared for a host of unknowns, and especially to work out all of the bugs (maybe suffer a few minor catastrophic situations to realize that you are not prepared), all of this takes time, and time sadly is something that you don't have a lot of. The house that I am selling is the result of several years of planning and preparation along with a lot of trial and error.
In my first post I made only passing reference to a fall-out shelter in the lower level. In the eighties I felt that nuclear war could happen at any time and guess what? Today it still can. As I described, 2 ft of earth and concrete separate the lower level of this house from the surface and the upper floor. The entire lower floor is underground except the southern wall which has a sliding door and windows which view the lake. To protect from the southern exposure there is an "L" shaped wall that is solid poured concrete of 20" thickness. This shelter offers the highest radiation protection factor of any civilian shelter that I know of or have read about.
The house is intended to offer safety and security without austerity, and to live in comfort despite whatever happens to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, I can't post pictures of the house on this sight (I can mail or email photos) because this house must be seen to be appreciated. It is a very beautiful house, surrounded by beautiful landscaping, surrounded by beautiful countryside with a lake view of Norfork Lake which is one of the clearest, cleanest lakes in the country. Even without a disaster or world war this an enjoyable place to live as I can attest, but this is also a house that can save your life.
There has been discussion on this board about different water cisterns. This house has a concrete cistern which holds up to 15,000 gallons of rainwater run-off from the roof. The inside is painted with a water tight sealer, I'm not sure about the brand but it was approved for drinking water purposes. There is an A-B valve for by-passing the cistern whenever collecting rainwater is not desired. For instance, under no circumstances would you want to allow fall-out contaminated water to enter your cistern. The cistern has a submersible well pump and pressure tank which feeds into the house. Inside the house there are 3 valves to choose between the private well, a community well, and water from the cistern. The water goes through a water purification system which consists of an iron filter, a water softener, and a distiller.
The garden in back of the house is terraced with railroad ties making gardening much easier. The beds are filled with 2-4 ft with rich organic compost which was a by-product of the mushroom farm that I used to do as a business. The mushroom farm and property are also for sale. Since mushrooms required biological containment, I have the equipment to cover that end too. The fruit orchard has mature bearing apple, peach, pear, and cherry trees.
On top of the roof, there is a "crows nest" observation room which can survey all of the surrounding ground in all directions as well as for enjoying the view. In the lower level there is a secret hideaway room in addition to the shelter. It is unlikely that an intruder would find this room, especially if he didn't know of it's existence. Plus, it would be nearly impossible to get at the occupants inside if they were armed.
When I chose this particular location, I considered that there are a lot of remote areas out west but I opted for seclusion rather than isolation. In the area map that I include in the package that I send to people on request, shows my location with circles of 100 mi radius and 200 mi radius. Little Rock is 100 mi south, while St. Louis, Kansas City, and Memphis are 200 mi away. I felt that was sufficient amount of distance from large cities while the small towns of Mountain Home, AR and West Plains MO are within 30 min drive.
Of course if someone wants to buy this house as a vacation home, I will sell it, but if I have a choice I would rather sell to someone who would appreciate the special features of this property. The current list price is $179,900. On request I will mail a package with area info, brochures on Norfork Lake, as well as Bull Shoals Lake, area maps, survey plats of Tecumseh Trace where the house is located (all surrounding property can be purchased), a floor plan of the house, and photos of the house. My real-estate agent can also mail a video of the house as well. Pictures of the house can also be e-mailed. My email address is: rcc@mtnhome.com
Anyone seriously interested can call me at (870)488-5449 and ask for Richard Campbell
Many of the responses to my house and property for sale have asked about available land for sale. The property in front of the house adjoins the government (Army Corps of Engineers) strip around Norfork lake which cannot be developed in order to keep the land around the lake and the shoreline in a natural condition. There are however approximately 500 acres available to the rear and on either side of the house. The seller is the same developer that sold my property to me and my real estate agent has the listing for all of the property. So, if you want extra land then it is available.
First of all, what is the purpose of having extra land? I assume that for most it would be either for privacy and seclusion or for farming ( agriculture or for livestock etc). My question is this; if the purpose is to have seclusion and privacy that's fine but why pay extra for it? I had as much seclusion and privacy as anyone in this country without paying for it. Believe me, if for privacy sake, there was any need to purchase additional land I would have done so myself. I was there for 15 yrs and no one else purchased any of the surrounding lots during that time. I can tell you that even now the chances of the property being purchased by someone else is slim to none. Unless you plan to farm or develop the land I don't understand the need to spend thousands of dollars (plus pay the property taxes) just for a buffer zone that you already have anyway. For defense purposes, I believe that the money could be put to better use. If you have or plan to have horses or livestock and you want pasture land for grazing, you could buy some of the available acreage, most of which would serve that purpose.
In addition to the house I'm selling, I am also selling my facility that was formerly used for growing mushrooms. I won't go into all the details about mushroom farming here, but suffice it to say that it was an extremely technical and intensive process. The main building has 5,300 sq ft plus a covered concrete open wharf of about 3000 sq ft. There is also a large barn with 2200 sq ft and is approximately 18 ft high.
Most of the main building was set up for biological containment which was a requirement for growing mushrooms, also very well insulated for temperature control. The large wing of 3300 sq ft is divided into 8 individual growing rooms plus a large walk in cooler and access hallway. The walls can also be removed if someone wants a large open space. An elaborate heating, cooling and humidity system is capable of providing a completely separate climate in each room. A boiler and a 10 ton water chiller pump hot and cold water through a closed loop system to heating and cooling coils in each room. In addition, live steam is piped into each room in order to kill harmful pathogens and airborne contaminates which I suspect may be of strong interest in the very near future. Like my house, I planned for a dual purpose. I had a business which could serve as a defense against biological warfare. The smaller wing has 1500 sq ft plus an upstairs office/ living quarters 450 sq ft. There is approximately 1000 sq ft of open ( high ceiling) work space plus 3 smaller poured concrete rooms ( 450 sq ft) underneath the office level.
The building can be used in a number of ways such as horticulture for indoor plants, small industries (I rented space to local cabinet makers), as a simple mini storage, or any combination of the above. The barn can be used as a stable for horses or livestock. This property is about 1/4 mi from my house and includes 2 ½ acres of land. As I mentioned above, all of the surrounding land is for sale if desired. The property is listed at $59,900.
If there are any questions about this property or my house described in my previous posts, feel free to call me (870)488-5449 or email me rcc@mtnhome.com give me a phone # and I'll be happy to call you. Stay safe and best wishes. Richard Campbell