A veteran’s bonus, a Depression-era farm and a granddaughter who refused to let it go. Most celebrity real estate stories are about glass walls and infinity pools. This one is about 20 acres of Oklahoma soil, a pecan grove and a family that almost lost it.
In 1936, in the middle of the Great Depression, Jennifer Garner’s maternal grandfather, a World War I veteran, used his veterans’ bonus to help buy a 20-acre farm in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. The figure most often cited is $700. Her mother grew up there, surrounded by a vegetable garden, native pecan trees and the kind of childhood that leaves a mark.
A Farm That Almost Slipped Away
The family later added about 35 acres of neighboring land. After Garner’s grandfather died in 1962, the property passed between her mother’s brothers, and by her mother’s account it went through several hands and was left untended for years.
In 2017, Garner stepped in and bought it, keeping it in the family. Her Uncle Robert still lives on the land and helps run it with his wife, Janet. “It means so much to me because it holds our family’s memories,” Garner has said.
From Family Land to a Second Career
The same year, Garner joined Cassandra Curtis and A...