When fertile bottom farm land was not available or was too expensive for 19th century homesteaders, mountain land offered a difficult but usually viable alternative. A mountain plot could produce a variety of crops that made it possible to sustain a balanced but sometimes thin diet. Hard work and cooperation took the place of wealth in making this land productive enough to support families and communities. Community life on the mountain usually centered on religion and the growing and harvesting of crops. Every fall, neighbors came together to help one another harvest corn and apples, gather and butcher hogs for market, and join in social activities after the work was done.