Scott Nearing & Helen Knothe Nearing

Scott Nearing: August 6, 1883 - August 24, 1983 Helen Knothe Nearing: February 23, 1904 - September 17, 1995 Prominent economist, socialist, teacher, writer and scholar, Scott and his wife Helen Knothe, lived in Winhall from 1932 to 1952. During the Great Depression they moved from New York City to begin a new life in Vermont. Here in their homestead, named Forest Farm, they chose to live the Good Life, a title of one of their many books. They built their handcrafted stone houses, created fertile organic gardens, made maple sugar, and were sustained by the land. Pearl Buck was a frequent visitor and eventual neighbor building her own stone houses in the area. They inspired many followers who shared their philosophy, which was recognized as a centerpiece of America's Back to the Land and Simple Living movement. Scott was an outspoken radical, an anti-war crusader, an advocate of social and economic justice, and a strict vegetarian. Scott and Helen led the life of pioneers in Vermont and later in Maine, whence they moved in 1952.