In the 1970s, Vietnam veteran Jim stepped off the beaten path—way off. With little money but an abundance of vision, he bought 600 acres of dense Maine wilderness and set out to build a life from scratch. Over the next five decades, he and his wife sculpted the land into a self-sustaining homestead, constructing everything from roads and bridges (including a few hanging suspension spans) to an entire hydroelectric power station.
source.image Kirsten Dirksen
Each structure on the property is a testament to his ingenuity. He built all the homes—first for himself, and later for his adult children who grew up hammering alongside him. Now retired, he lives in an underground home of his own design, a dwelling that embodies the philosophy he has spent a lifetime refining: that with enough ingenuity and effort, the impossible becomes possible.
source.image Kirsten Dirksen
But Jim didn’t just create shelter; he built a world. His vast gardens and a towering A-frame greenhouse provide food year-round. The family’s hand-dug ponds and dams reshape the land to provide power for all the homes on the property. And then there’s the mile-long zipline—one of the longest in the world—where his son Dustin once hit 80 mph soaring over the family pond.
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Dustin has taken his father’s ethos to new heights—literally. He’s constructing an off-grid home within a 98-foot-tall reclaimed pipe, sourced from an old New Hampshire paper mill. A spiral staircase will lead to a living space perched 68 feet above the ground (with its own zipline) offering an unparalleled view of the land his father tamed. “My father never accepted the limitations society imposes,” Dustin says. “He questions what’s possible, then figures out how to make it happen.”
For Jim, every bridge, every house, every beam of power generated by the river is proof that with creativity and determination, the rules of modern living can be rewritten. His world is one of invention, of resilience, of an unshakable belief in doing things differently.
