Swan Valley: Making of an Idaho Homesteader

When the Callister family arrives in Swan Valley in the spring of 1888, they bring with them everything they own and everything they hope for — which is not always the same thing. Silas Callister has staked his family's future on a homestead claim in a valley that is barely settled, where the winters are brutal and the land does not yield without a fight.Twelve-year-old Elias watches his father work with the focused attention of a boy who understands, without being told, that he is learning something he will one day need to know on his own. Through two punishing winters, a first harvest, a baby lost, and a community slowly gathering itself around a schoolhouse and a shared stubbornness, the Callisters hold on — until the morning they wake to find that holding on is no longer Silas's work to do.By the time the second winter releases its grip, Elias is fifteen. The homestead claim has two years left to prove. Will Silas be able to see his dream fulfilled? Will the family survive the challenges of unsettled land? The valley is waiting, as it always has, for whatever comes next. Read more