The History of Disaster Prepping

Disaster prepping is nothing new. Did you know that disaster prepping and getting ready for potential hard times date back to the beginning of human history?

Disaster Prepping from Ancient Times to 1900

All we need to do to see the importance of preparedness is to look to the story of Noah and his family building the ark in preparation for a natural disaster.

The reality is that humans have taken disaster-prepping measures since the earliest time to get ready for the adversity they knew was coming.

Whether gathering and preserving food to get ready for winter, working to deal with Mother Nature, or readying themselves to overcome a host of other adversities, people have always worked to be prepared for problems that lay ahead.  Lacking our modern conveniences, people had no choice other than to plan and prepare for the trying times they knew would come.

For example, people of the Middle Ages gathered and preserved as much food as possible during the summer months. They knew that a long cold winter was coming and did what they could to put aside food so they wouldn't starve.

Until very recent times, preparing for the future was NOT an option. Preparing for the rough times that lay ahead was simply a way of life for thousands of years. The dark reality is that those who didn't prepare stood a good chance of not living past the next difficulty.

Think about trying to survive the winter a few hundred years ago without a stack of wood, preserved food, or any number of other life-sustaining preparations.

Disaster Prepping from 1900 - 1970

As our relatively recent history shows, preparedness was an expected practice. Heck, it wasn't considered disaster prepping or anything other than mainstream. It was a way of life to raise a garden, can some pickles, and be self-reliant. Nobody went to the store or restaurants on a daily basis.

As recently as most of the last century, people were encouraged to prepare and be self-reliant. Often, governments promoted preparedness in an attempt to rally their people to support a national effort.

The World Wars

As the flames of world wars raged around the globe, many countries involved in the fights pushed their citizens to become more self-reliant.

Here in the United States and other nations, people were encouraged to grow "Victory Gardens" to help keep the country fed during a time of food rationing.

Not becoming more self-reliant and prepared was considered unpatriotic at the time and counter to the nation's war effort.

The effort was so strong that over 20 million victory gardens were planted within the United States. By 1944 victory gardens produced over eight million tons of fruits and vegetables.

To help put this into perspective, they produced 40% of all fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States. At that time, the amount was equal to all U.S. commercial production.

In addition to growing victory gardens, people fearing possible attacks by the enemy began constructing home bomb shelters, many of which still exist today.

The Cold War

During the Cold War, the specter of nuclear war was an ever-present threat. The building of bomb shelters throughout the United States by individuals and local and federal governments increased.

One of the most famous examples of bomb shelters is the Greenbrier Resort, located in West Virginia, a short trip from Washington D.C. Construction of the Greenbrier, codenamed "Project Greek Island," began in 1958.

Architects of the Greenbrier created it to house over 1,000 people, including the entire US Congress. The refuge remained in operation for over 30 years. Had the shelter not become known to the public in 1992, it would probably still be in operation today. While the Greenbrier may no longer be involved, other shelters are certainly part of the government's continuity of operations plan today.