About Us

Homestead Carts is located in the Great Pacific Northwest and is the only West Coast Manufacturer of these High Quality Specialized Super Garden Carts. Homestead Carts has built carts for over 35 years and continues to set the standard for quality, workmanship and customer service. Homestead Carts has its roots all the way back to 1979 when Stephen Fish pioneered the Homestead Cart design and construction. Since that time our carts have been copied, but none can match the excellence of the cart that bears the Homestead Carts name.

The original owner/creator of Homestead Carts, Mr. Stephen Fish, was a Pastor at “World Outreach” church in Silverton Oregon. They had a ministry to help young people that were struggling and had a complex where they housed and ministered to them. During the day, the men would work in a rented building just West of Silverton where they made pine waterbed pedestals and headboards. They were never actually involved in the manufacture of the carts, but they shared the large building where the carts were made.

Marvin Botts, the first Homestead Cart employee and his family bought the cart business in 1982 with just two hydraulic presses and a few odds and ends. They built thousands of carts in the 80’s, and went to many trade shows and state fairs. They advertised in Southern Living Magazine, Sunset magazine, and many others on a regular basis.

In 1983 the Portland Trailblazers painted one of our carts in their colors and had a cash giveaway game halfway through a game... They loaded the cart full of crunched up cash, and a member of the audience was chosen to shovel out as much as they could in a certain length of time. They bought the cart from a Fred Meyer store, who handled Homestead Carts at that time.

Among other improvements Marvin Botts added hydraulics to the sheet metal sheer and later sold the business to the Perry Family in Salem, OR. The business was then purchased by John Berry. As good friends, John Berry worked with Rick Jerald and they continued to improve the product.  John eventually sold the business to Rick who moved the business to WA State. Rick continued to make more improvements in the manufacturing process.  In particular, he changed the plywood construction to high quality marine plywood which has been well received by customers.