The homestead system was a phenomenon that existed all over Norway, in different variations. Eiker and the other flat villages in Eastern Norway were probably the area where the homestead system was most widespread, and within Eiker's borders we find many variations – there were homesteaders with land and landless shore sitters, building homesteaders and working homesteaders.

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The latter half of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century were a period of great upheaval in the farming community on Eiker. The crown estate and the noble estates disintegrated, many farmers became freeholders, but also rich lumber merchants from the cities bought farms and land on Eiker. The population increased, and many new homesteads were cleared.

The preparation of the new land register in 1723 is probably the first source that provides a comprehensive overview of the householders in Eiker. It shows that the householder system at this time was an institution that was well-established in all parts of the village. A total of 116 of the farms in Eiker had householders at this time. The vast majority only had one or two householders, but farms such as Nedre Hoen, Vestre Lo and Skjelbred had as many as six, Stenshorne had as many as nine householders, under Fossesholm 13 are listed and under Haug vicarage 14 householders.

Almost all of these plots were used for growing oats, usually between half and a full barrel. This means that these were homesteaders with land, while homesteaders without land are not included – reasonable enough, since this was a tax register and it was the land that was considered tax. If one includes all the homesteaders who did not have land, the number would probably be considerably larger than the 246 homesteads listed in 1723.

The next year we find a comprehensive overview of householders on Eiker is 1765, when a census was taken in connection with the collection of an additional tax. This included all persons over the age of 15, and 252 of them are listed as householders. This is only slightly more than in 1723. But the tax in 1765 was a so-called cup tax, so that householders who did not own land were also included. These are not called householders in the census, but are listed in the same tax class as householders. There were a total of 413 of them. Based on this, we can conclude that nearly 20% of Eiker's population in the mid-18th century were householders. But more interesting than the number is perhaps to look more closely at what kind of householders there were on Eiker.

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Unfortunately, the census of 1765 says almost nothing about what people worked for. The exceptions are eight hammersmiths at Hassel ironworks and fourteen people at Nøstetangen who "worked at the factory". But based on their place of residence, it is also possible to say a lot about what the householders at Eiker did for a living.,

Not surprisingly, we find most of the homesteaders where there were sawmills and other industries. This was in Vestfossen and Skotselv, along the Hoenselva and in Mjøndalen. There is hardly any doubt that many of these were sawmill workers. Under farms such as Solberg and Krokstad there were large mills, and here we also find a concentration of homesteaders. The same applies to the sound site at Haug – both under Prestegården and on the east side of the Drammenselva under the farms Lerberg and Hobbelstad. The homesteaders here may have been connected to timber rafting and salmon fishing, but the fact that Haugsund was an important hub for transport probably also had its significance. Among the homesteaders here we probably find both innkeepers, carriage drivers and craftsmen.

Nevertheless, only a fairly modest proportion of the homesteaders in the 18th century lived in such settlements. Under all the larger farms in the village, it was common to have four or five homesteads or even more. This applied to both farms in the centre of the village and those on the outskirts. The establishment of such homesteads must have been related to the need for labour on the farm, especially in the hamlets. The farmers could secure labour assistance by renting out land and taking payment in the form of compulsory labour. Without having studied the homestead contracts in more detail, one must assume that the homesteaders on such farms were so-called "workhouse workers", while those who had permanent work on sawmills or in other industries were "construction workers", that is, they paid for the rent of the space with money instead of compulsory labour. In some places it may have been a combination – this applies, for example, to farms such as Fossesholm, Ulleland and Hoen, which had both a significant dirt road and a large sawmill operation.

Many homesteaders were probably also timber floaters. We can probably find them all along the Drammenselva River, but there were especially many places near the large timber hinges at Kverk and Stenberg. Another economic activity that laid the foundation for clearing homesteads was mining. If there were so many homesteaders under farms like Berg and Stenshorne, it is probably related to the fact that there was mining in both the Bergsgruvene and Krambudalsgruvene mines in the 1760s.