Oasis Frontier: Old West Sims 4

How was the west REALLY won? Find out how Oasis Springs was settled. Current Decade: 1850s

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Welcome and Guide

Welcome to the Old West in Oasis Springs! Follow the McFarland family as they and their fellow pioneers build a new society on the frontier. This is partially inspired by Kosmic Hippie's Wild West Decades Challenge, partially my own method.

Start from the beginning here.

One day I'll make a mods/cc list, but for now I am WCIF friendly! Most of the lots are from the gallery, with light or serious edits, and some I built myself. Find my uploads in the gallery at: demureworm.

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1855, Oasis Outpost

When Lily wasn't half-drunk to numb the pain, her only thought was: How long, O Lord? How long?

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1855, Pebble Homestead

Eliza always said yes to Thomas, even when she didn't want to. She laughed at his bad jokes about chickens, and listened to him complain. She thought about finding her own perfume to cover the smell of Lily's that seemed to never go away.

But he was a good man! He provided for their family and kept them safe. What had she expected, answering a newspaper ad? Hadn't she whored herself out in a way? But she squashed any sympathy for Lily that threatened to appear; Eliza would never sleep with another woman's husband. Lily was betraying every woman in the whole town just because she knew how to prey on men's weaknesses!!

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1855, Pebble Homestead

Eliza's careful nursing of Brandon paid off and he lived past the age of two. He was still fussy, and with his poor motor skills he always made a mess of himself, but Eliza was too relieved to mind. She loved running her fingers through his mop of red curls.

Eliza grew sick of Andrew's whining for her attention and sent him outside to be with his father. It was never too early to learn how to run the farm, and a pioneer needs to be tough. He was a healthy boy, what did he have to cry about?

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1855, Springscape Farm

Mila and her sons moved into Bjorn's farmhouse right away. He felt a little guilty being intimate with Mila in the bed he had shared with Clara. Did Mila compare him to her late husband? He decided to send for some new fabric back East so Mila could redecorate the home to her tastes.

The children would not get along, no matter how hard Bjorn and Mila tried to bring peace. Bjorn was often gloomy and convinced that they would never get along, but Mila assured him it would just take time. But he hoped it wouldn't take much longer, as Mila was already expecting.

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1855, Lutheran Church

After the proper amount of time had passed, Bjorn Bjergsen and Mila Munch were wed.

It was a small affair with only a few friends and family. Bjorn invited the McFarlands, as he credited some of his business success to Eliza's industrious nature.

Bjorn and Mila wanted to create new family bonds immediately, but Sofia spent most of the reception at her mother's graveside.

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1855, Oasis Outpost and Pebble Homestead

Thomas enjoyed his nights with Eliza, but there were certain things he wanted to do that no respectable wife would. So he went under the floorboards and took Eliza's savings to give Lily extra pay for her troubles. Really, wasn't he was protecting Eliza more than he was hurting her? At least that's what he told himself.

Now that Thomas was stumbling home at sunrise and sleeping until noon, all the farm chores and the parenting fell to Eliza. She tried to convince herself that this was a wife's lot in life. All men needed to sow their wild oats, and as the woman she was supposed to stay faithful. But she felt ashamed, like for all her efforts she still wasn't good enough, and she felt dirty by association from Lily. Eliza bathed herself and the children obsessively to avoid some strange disease.

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1855, Pebble Homestead

Time was passing by luxuriously for Eliza. There were days when she could actually get a moment of peace to herself!

The McFarlands used their time well. Thomas focused on improving their homestead, and Eliza perfected her cooking and canning skills. She was well known in the Oasis Frontier for her preserves especially; Thomas had struck a deal with Bjorn at the General Store and he purchased from her wholesale. Eliza was hoping to save enough money to purchase a llama. She kept all her coins squirreled away under the floorboards.

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1855, Pebble Homestead

Eliza was surprised when another year rolled in and she still hadn't gotten pregnant. Having their own bedroom had definitely improved their marriage; she and Thomas hadn't been intimate this often since their first year together. Had he developed an issue from all those nights at the saloon? She knew he still went, and she hoped that it was just to play cards.

Not that she was complaining about her lack of pregnancy. The whole family was more settled into a steady routine and the garden was really beginning to thrive under her care. Plus, if she got pregnant again she would be too sick to give Brandon enough attention!

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1854, Mormon Homestead

After a year, things were finally looking up for Lorena Swann. Out of her limited options on the homestead, a potential suitor finally materialized -- Jacob Kizer. Lorena had the sneaking suspicion that it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time; she knew that Jacob's wife Emilie was exhausted raising their rambunctious toddler. But what was love for anyone, really, other than being in the right place at the right time? Lorena had high hopes, but without a father to protect her she needed to be on her guard more than ever.

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1854, Springscape Farm

Bjorn Bjergsen was not made to be a widower. He had more respect for Clara now than he ever did when she was alive. How had she known what to do with these children? He could run the General Store, manage employees, navigate supply chains... but when it came to potty training little Elsa he was lost.

So his businessman brain started running the cost-benefit analysis. Mila Munch, a widow with three children, was his closest neighbor. She was struggling without a husband; her house was still unfinished after four years. They were from the same country-- Windenberg-- so why shouldn't they get married?

Mila willingly accepted his proposal, but they decided to keep it private until over a year after Clara's death to look respectable. Sofia was extremely upset when Bjorn told her what he thought was happy news. Why wouldn't she want to have a mother?

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1854, Pebble Homestead

Independence Day! Eliza had the perfect holiday. Thomas barbecued freshly caught fish from the river, and he found an old feed tub to fill with water for Andrew to splash in.

After the boys were both asleep, Eliza and Thomas cuddled up next to the bonfire. Cozily, she remembered to the Independence Days she had celebrated in the city back East and how different her life was then--it was so much better now, even with the struggles. Wasn't this real independence, anyway?

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1854, Oasis Outpost

Lily often wondered how she had ended up in this line of work. She hated it so thoroughly, but the money was better than what Angela made at the school. Plus, there was no going back for her.

The men disgusted her with their open pawing and sweaty stench. Still, she flirted with them at the card table and kept them entertained upstairs. What else what she was supposed to do?

Lily was especially sad to miss Clara Bjergsen's funeral. She had always liked Clara; they had been friends before... well. After that, no woman in town would speak to Lily. They treated her like a disease to be avoided. So, she just listened to the men talking about the funeral that night at the saloon, and tried not to cry when they joked that Bjorn just needed to visit her to cheer himself up.

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1854, Springscape Farm and the Lutheran Church

Tragedy struck the Bjergsen family early in the year. Clara died in a freak farming accident, leaving behind Bjorn to care for their two daughters alone. Bjorn owned the General Store and had relied on Clara to keep things running smoothly at home.

They held a funeral for her at the Lutheran church she had loved so much. The little church was packed, and Bjorn stoically choked out some remarks. His older daughter, Sofia, cried the entire service.

Eliza McFarland was scandalized to see Lily Pleasant in a church, but Mila Munch explained that it was Lily's identical twin Angela. Angela was the town schoolteacher, and once Eliza heard that she was very excited. She already had big plans for Brandon's future--he obviously wasn't suited to farm work. Angela was kind, but gently let Eliza know that she didn't teach children below the age of five.

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1853, Pebble Homestead

Eliza began to worry that she was a bad mother. Andrew was getting just smart enough to notice when Brandon got attention and he didn't. Eliza tried to explain to him that as the big brother he needed to be good and share his momma, but that just made him cry more.

She tried to make up for her feelings of neglect by keeping Andrew in the house with her more often, but as soon as Brandon started crying she dropped everything and ran to him instead.

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1853, Pebble Homestead

Andrew turned two years old and immediately started toddling around independently. Thomas finally knew how to engage with Andrew now that he could sort of speak, and he was pleased that Andrew already loved the farm animals.

Now that Andrew was trailing Thomas for most of the day, Eliza felt like she could take a breath. She cherished getting her hands dirty in the garden again, and Brandon was developing slowly and needed her.

Eliza couldn't believe she had ever considered getting a wet nurse. She couldn't stand to be away from Brandon for more than a few minutes at a time, and who would be able to love him as much as she did?

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1853, Mormon Homestead

Lorena Swann had not wanted to come quite so far west, but her father had left her with no choice. Lorena's mother had died in childbirth a year after she had Lorena, along with the stillborn. Lorena's father had been too heartbroken to ever remarry, so for her whole life all they had was each other. She understood that they had to move west for their safety, but it was her father who had wanted a large plot of land. And then he had gone and died along the way, leaving Lorena all alone.

The other families on the homestead were kind to her, but they were no replacement for her father; she so desperately wanted to get married and it was mortifying trying to make her own match. Lorena tried to make herself attractive to the men by improving her womanly skills, but no one seemed to want her.

She was very close friends with John Shaffer--probably closer than they should be. She became very entrenched in his family and learned all about the struggle of his first wife, Marjorie, to embrace his second wife Mary. His daughter even told Lorena that she wished Lorena had married her daddy; when Lorena told John that, waiting for a proposal, he was horrified. Only then did the spell finally break, and Lorena wondered if she would be alone forever.