Present-Tense Purpose

Long before we arrived, our Homestead was known as Wright’s Woods, the first stop east of Freeport on the interurban railway. Neighbors would gather here to picnic under the oaks, welcomed freely by William O. Wright. A small hand-painted sign once marked the entrance by the tracks: Rosemary. The bell that still hangs in our backyard, rang out to signal incoming trains, echoing across the prairie path that remains today.

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We call it Outback Hollow because it lives in the in-between; the edge of wild and tended, past and future, forgotten and remembered. “Outback” nods to the untamed, the edge of the map and the Land Down Under where Ben is from. “Hollow” is the place things return to; the oaks, the quiet, fertile, and a little strange. Together, it’s a place of cycles and contradictions, where growth comes from stillness and the old ways find new form.

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We’re simply picking up where the land left off—growing microgreens, mushrooms, herbs, and botanical goods in a way that respects the soil, the story, and the steady work of tending. 

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Come visit us every Saturday May 10 - Oct 25 at the Stephenson County Farmers Market. Downtown Freeport.