24 years ago, at the age of 61, Laura Shanklin, with the help of a cowboy friend, hand-built a beautiful stone house spanning 950 square feet in the Sonoran Desert, which crosses the border between the United States and Mexico.
At 85 years old today, Shanklin remains spirited. She was born in West Virginia and has lived in various states in the United States over the years, including New York, Texas, Kentucky, California, Rhode Island, Vermont, Illinois, and Arizona.
Shanklin studied at the Rhode Island School of Design for two years and had various jobs throughout her life. After her second marriage, she had the opportunity to work in a construction company, responsible for refurbishing homes for sale.
So why did she ultimately purchase a property in the desert region of Arizona and build a stone house there solely by hand, without the use of any power tools? According to Shanklin, it was all because of her daughter.
Shanklin’s daughter owned many horses, and she saw the area as a great place due to the numerous horse-related activities in the nearby town, such as off-road riding and roping performances.
Therefore, she and her daughter bought a 42-acre piece of land in the central part of the desert. However, they later divided and sold off pieces of the land, but Shanklin kept 2 acres for herself.
During this time, Shanklin became friends with a cowboy named Arlie Swartz from Montana, who arrived at the land with his beloved horse.
As the land was located near an almost dried-up riverbed, it was surrounded by rocks of various shapes and sizes.
“Arlie was very interested in building a stone house, and he was willing to do it, so I was happy to try,” Shanklin told The Epoch Times, “So we started doing it.”
She mentioned that the regulations for self-building houses were not very strict at that time, only requiring a permit for a septic system.
The two of them first gathered building materials, trying to save costs by sourcing locally. They quickly collected thousands of rocks, bought hundreds of bags of cement, an oil tank truck for water storage, and reclaimed wood from an old roadside motel.
Shanklin shared, “We were just in our early 60s at the time, full of energy and strength. We worked every day, almost without interruption.”
Swartz was responsible for building the 2-foot thick walls using large and small oval rocks, while Shanklin mixed concrete and transported wood to the construction site.
After completing the roof, they finally connected the electrical wires.
It took them 18 months to complete the house, after which Swartz moved to Wickenburg, Arizona, where he lived until he fell seriously ill. Later, his daughter took him back to Montana, where he passed away in 2016.
Recently, Shanklin shared a YouTube video showcasing the various corners of the interior of the stone house and the beautiful outdoor scenery.
From the video, it can be seen that there is a porch outside her front door, providing a perfect spot to admire the magnificent views of the Sonoran Desert. There are two Christmas trees around the house, as well as saguaro cacti, Palo Verde trees (Arizona’s state tree), and mesquite trees.
Regarding the interior of the house, the middle features a living room with a fireplace, a kitchen on the left, a dining area, and a refrigerator. Additionally, there are two bedrooms, a bathroom with a sink and toilet, and a separate shower area with a stone wall.
Shanklin stated that the entire house cost $30,000, including the price of the land and construction costs.
In recent years, aside from the extremely hot summers, she spends most of her time living in the stone house throughout the year.
“Having your own house without paying rent is truly wonderful,” she said. “I hope everyone can have a beautiful home of their own.”