About
The Kesey Farm Project is an artist-led nonprofit dedicated to preserving Ken Kesey’s historic home, land, and personal archives.
Our work centers on restoration, conservation, and archiving, alongside residencies and occasional programs that bring people together through creative collaboration
We see the Farm as a living place where its history can continue to inspire curiosity, play, and new ideas for generations to come.
History
For decades, the Farm was both home to Ken Kesey and a creative headquarters—a gathering place for writers, artists, performers, activists, and friends.
Today, the Kesey Farm Project preserves the site while keeping it active: supporting creative work, caring for the land and buildings, and welcoming new generations of artists and thinkers.
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1967
Ken Kesey and his family purchased the 64-acre farm in Pleasant Hill, Oregon (Kalapuya Ilihi), in 1967. After returning from California, Kesey made it the center of his artistic life—a lively gathering place for friends, family, and collaborators.
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1970s
From 1974 to 1981, Kesey edited and printed his literary magazine Spit in the Ocean in the barn’s “Spit Room,” bringing together established and emerging writers. Farm gatherings—including the Bend in the River Conference and Poetic Hoo Haws—welcomed poets, musicians, and thinkers such as Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Gregory Corso, and Timothy Leary.
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1980s
In 1984, Kesey’s son Jed died in a van crash while traveling with the University of Oregon wrestling team. During the decade, Kesey published Demon Box (1986) and Caverns (1989), co-written with students from his UO creative writing class.
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1990s
The Farm’s activity surged again. Kesey published Last Go Round, Sailor Song, and two children’s books. The grounds hosted The Field Trip music festival (1992), bus-painting parties, and rehearsals for Twister: A Ritual Reality (1994), his theatrical reimagining of The Wizard of Oz.
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2000s
After Ken’s death in 2001, Faye maintained the Farm until 2011, when she married writer Larry McMurtry and moved to Texas.
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2016 – Present
In 2016, Kesey’s granddaughter Kate Smith returned to the Farm and began organizing its archives and reviving its creative life with help from family and friends. The first summer residency followed in 2017, bringing eight artists together on the land. Residencies, workshops, and events have continued since; the Kesey Farm Project became a nonprofit in 2020.
Current Projects
The Project cares for Ken Kesey’s historic home, working farm, and archives through six connected initiatives in art, ecology, and preservation.
Together, these efforts keep the Farm’s creative legacy alive while restoring the land for the future.
Our goal is to preserve the Farm’s history and support thriving plant, animal, and human communities.
“I’d like for our kids to have it at least as good as we had it...”
— Ken Kesey
Archive
Wetland Habitat Restoration
Regenerative Farming
Historic Site Restoration
Solar Initiative
Programming
News
News, press, and stories from the Kesey Farm Project.
Mo Ritter — “Vibes of the Periphery”
Fall 2025
In an essay for the Ford Family Foundation, Mo Ritter explores the Farm’s atmosphere and creative life.
→ Read the full essay (PDF) pp. 23-38
Emergency Horse – Interview and Feature
Fall 2025
Emergency Horse interviews the Project, with David Weddle discussing the Farm’s second annual sci-fi writers’ workshop.
→ Read the feature via Emergency Horse Magazine online
Grateful Ducks Collection shot on the Kesey Farm
Fall 2025
Nike, Class Trip, the Grateful Dead, and the University of Oregon filmed the Grateful Ducks Collection at the Farm, featuring the Duck, UO Marching Band, cheerleaders, and players Dante and Dakorien Moore.
→ Read more on Nike.com & UOregon.edu
Support
Donate
Your donation helps preserve Ken Kesey’s historic home and archives, protect an important part of American literary and cultural history, and make space for new creative work.
Become a Friend of the Farm. Make a tax-deductible donation today.
Venue Rentals & Creative Retreats
The Farm welcomes select creative retreats, workshops, and small events that align with our mission. Open fields, historic buildings, and decades of creative history make it a distinctive place to gather.
For rates and availability, contact us.
Volunteer
Volunteers help with archive digitization, events, land restoration, and creative programs.
Interested in helping? Contact us or join our newsletter for volunteer opportunities.
Supporters
Thank you to everyone who has supported the Farm and helped shape its work.
Your support makes this work possible.
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Chambers Family Foundation, Furthur Foundation, Maybelle Clark MacDonald Fund, The Conrad Clark Fund of Oregon Community Foundation, Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District, Online Ceramics, Ditch Projects, Rob and Debbie Laney, Gordon Adams, Kate Ali, Vicki and David Amorose, Keri and Michael Aronson, Isaac Babbs, Robert Barsotti, Susan Butkovich, Cathy Cassady, John Cassady, Patricia Chamberlain-Waechter, Conrad Clark, Lonnie Coulter, Barbara Cowan, Michael Crooke, Sutton Cunningham, Janet Davis, John Davis, Len Dell'Amico, Leslie Elfenbein, Hillel Ephros, Lorna Frey, Miranda Friedman, Carolyn Garcia, Cecelia Hagen, Juanita Harris, Jill Hartz, John Hull, Lee Imonen, Jennifer Jewett, Jason Johnson, Janine Kanzler, Chuck and Sue Kesey, Kit and Ginger Kesey, Sunshine Kesey, Clyde and Kim Kimball, Lynda Lanker, Karen Laird, Richard Larson, George Law, Annette Leong, John Leopold, Nancy Levine, Roseanna Lourdeaux, Rose Mackey, David Lugliani, Christina and Charlie McClain, Faye Kesey McMurtry, Larry McMurtry, Joe Mathews, Erica Miller, Jean Miller, Warner Munro, Thomas Nathanson, Mark and Mary K Newson, John O’Connor, Carolyn Ostrander, Robert Preuss, Lee Quarnstrom, Mo Ritter, Henry A Rosenfeld, Katie Singer, Irby and Elaine Smith, Jay and Shannon Smith, Philip Speranza, Liora Sponko, Ron and Sarah Sprague, Paul Stamets, David Stanford, Staci and Michael Stearns, Ravenne Swaner, Bill and Sheryl Thompson, Ellen Tykeson, Gus Van Sant, Victoria Villier, Kathryn Wagner, Maggie Wagner, Margaret Weatherly, David Weddle, Francis Wheeler, Andrew Wiggins, Bill and Karen Wildish, Chris Williams, Audrey Wollen, Kristopher Wood
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Blue Valley Bistro, Bring Recycling, Charitable Partnership Fund, Ditch Projects, Dizzy Magazine, Doak Creek Native Plant Nursery, Elizabeth Chambers Cellar, Fat Cat Farm, Fungi Perfecti, Host Defense, Hilltop Plank Town, Hunter Noack - In A Landscape, Kesey Enterprises, Ram Jack West, Rexius, Rocky Maselli – Marche Restaurant, Maidenhair Landscapes, Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council, Lucky Star Candle, Ninkasi Brewing, Online Ceramics, Pleasant Hill Pottery, Silvan Ridge Winery, Speranza Architecture + Urban Design, Spielman Bagels & Coffee, Springfield Creamery - Nancy's Yogurt, Toby's Family Foods, Trillium Gardens, Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District, Bill and Karen Wildish, Adam Wendt, William Rose / The Wine Lab, Walama Restoration Project, Working Lands, Xerces Society
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Kate Ali, Vicki Amorose, Carly Anderson, Lexy Aydelotte, Ken and Eileen Babbs, Liz Babbs, Payton Barronian, Olivia Bates, Taylor Bolley, Stephen Brooks, Matt Brown, Susan Butkovich, Kathleen Caprario, Abby Carroll, Rachel Chambers, Jon Davie, McKenzie Davie, Whitney Davie, Aaron Davis, Danielle Davis, Callie Dean, Jenn Duce, Julie Duce, Hans Eichinger, Jake Ephros, Kayla Ephros, Jeff Forester, Miranda Friedman, Ellis Ganley, Carolyn Garcia, Jeff Geiger, Joe Geil, Lydia Glenn-Murray, Justin Gordon, Sami Grace, Brynn Grossman, Nic Gusset, Grant Hall, Freddy Hahne, Jonathan Harms, Pieter Hilton, Tamathy Howard, Jyn Henzel, Lee Imonen, Kelly Infield, Maren Jensen, Jennifer Jewett, Jesse Jones, Genie and Erik Kazmar, Caleb & Sally Kesey, Kit and Ginger Kesey, Sunshine Kesey, Zane and Stephanie Kesey, Clyde and Kim Kimball, Steve Korin, Alex Kujawski, Lewis Laney, Rob Laney, Howard Libes, Milah Libin, Brady Lightle, Arvid Logan, Rianne Manning, Dino Matt, Sara Mazze, Christina and Charlie McClain, Steve Meisen, Louis Messmer, Erica Miller, Paul Modell, Rex Moody, Ron Moore, Michael Nankin, Perwana Nazif, Paul and Suzanne Nordquist, Spencer Petersen, Liz Phang, Matthew Poplawski, Jess Pottker, Clue Quilala, Indigo Rael, Mo Ritter, Jen Shear, Nora Slade, Dave Slothower, Irby and Elaine Smith, Jay and Shannon Smith, Jordan Smith, Justin Smith, Kate Smith, Vinnie Smith, Nick Soracco, Philip Speranza, David Stanford, Paul Stametz, Kelli Mikkelsen Stark, Randall Stender, Ravenne Swaner, Dylan Thadani, Bradley Thompson, Blake Thompson, Cami White Thompson, Sheryl and Bill Thompson, Adam Wendt, Jessie Rose Vala, Eamon Wagner, Izi Weber, Lidia Yuknavitch, Adam Zeek
Kalapuya Ilihi
The Farm sits on Kalapuya Ilihi, the ancestral homelands of the Kalapuya peoples. The U.S. government dispossessed Kalapuya peoples of these homelands through treaties signed between 1851 and 1855. Many Kalapuya people are now citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. We honor their ongoing relationship with this land and commit to responsible stewardship.
