It always amazes me how our forebears managed to find their way to Oklee, Minnesota. There were no roads, no cars, and no railroads. People from France, Norway, Sweden, and other European countries landed on the east coast, as they flocked to our country. When it became crowded, they moved west using the waterways and rivers for transportation. Much of the land was still wilderness. Many traveled up the Mississippi River and along the Red River, settling in the Red River Valley. To stimulate growth inland, the Homestead Act was initiated. Many traveled overland by horse and wagon on rutted trails and grassland to find a plot of 160 acres of undeveloped land. They were granted title to the land if they “improved” the plot by building a dwelling and cultivating the land. After five years on the land, farmers were entitled to the property, free and clear. By 1870, the rich Red River Valley grew more wheat than any other place in the nation. River routes were limited and some farmers settled where they were landlocked. As you know, the Lost River didn’t afford much in the way of water access to major cities. To get grain to market, farmers had to ship their harvest over 80 miles to Moorhead. To travel over land, the transportation cost was $0.15/ton for every mile shipped. The value of wheat was only $1.10/bushel. If they were lucky, farmers barely broke even. Most farmers lost money. Soo Line Steam Engine, 1950 The cost of shipping by rail was one-tenth of that at only $0.015/ton. At this rate farmers made money and could ship all the way to Minneapolis, where the value was up to $1.50/bushel. In 1893, the Soo Line began building a railroad across the hinterlands of Wisconsin and Minnesota so they could ship grain and l... ... middle of paper ... ... trains, but agents only need a company car and cell phone to run everything. Oklee Soo Line Depot after Elevator Fire The Williams family was the last to live in the Oklee depot. It was in bad shape after the great elevator fire in the fall of 1967. The depot probably would have caught fire if it hadn’t been for my father, my uncle and the help of the townspeople who doused the rooftop continuously while the flames roared just across the track. The windows of the depot were so hot that you couldn’t put your hand on the glass without burning yourself. The main telegraph window broke and the paint blistered and peeled. Sadly, the once brightly colored yellow and maroon railroad depot that was the hub of Oklee, was no longer needed. It was moved to the Oklee city park and in 1982 lightning struck it and burned it to the ground. Jill S. Flateland (Williams)
Farmers began to cultivate vast areas of needed crops such as wheat, cotton, and even corn. Document D shows a picture of The Wheat Harvest in 1880, with men on earlier tractors and over 20-30 horses pulling the tractor along the long and wide fields of wheat. As farmers started to accumilate their goods, they needed to be able to transfer the goods across states, maybe from Illinios to Kansas, or Cheyenne to Ohmaha. Some farmers chose to use cattle trails to transport their goods. Document B demonstrates a good mapping of the major railroads in 1870 and 1890. Although cattle trails weren't used in 1890, this document shows the existent of several cattle trails leading into Chyenne, San Antonio, Kansas City and other towns nearby the named ones in 1870. So, farmers began to transport their goods by railroads, which were publically used in Germany by 1550 and migrated to the United States with the help of Colonel John Stevens in 1826. In 1890, railroads expanded not only from California, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada, but up along to Washington, Montana, Michigan, down to New Mexico and Arizona as well. Eastern States such as New Jersey, Tennesse, Virginia and many others were filled with existing railroads prior to 1870, as Colonel John Stevens started out his railroad revolutionzing movement in New Jersey in 1815.
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 is one of the most pivotal points in American History. The massive event entailed: American settlers performing their best bull impression. They made Oklahoma seem as if it were painted in the color red. A jaw-dropping amount of land settled in a day. Finally, to a victimized community that was on the verge of drowning in a sea of unwanted roommates. Oklahoma’s great land rush gave America the space to stretch out their territory, even though it nearly wiped out the Native Americans' land.
The availability of inexpensive land in the American West provided opportunity for many Americans to fulfill the American dream of individualism, economic opportunity and personal freedom. Immigrants, former slaves and other settlers moved across the country to become western farmers and ranchers to make a new life. One of the reasons why the west was a land of opportunity for the farmers and ranchers was the large quantity of cheap available land. This allowed for many Americans, both rich and poor, to buy land for farming and raising cattle. The Homestead Act of 1862 aided the process. The Homestead Act gave title to 160 acres of federal land to farmers who staked a claim and lived on the land for five years. Alternatively, a farmer could buy the land after six months for $1.25 an acre. Many blacks and immigrants joined the westward expansion, looking for a better life. Immigrants saw the land as opportunity because many could not own land in the countries where they were born. For example, in Nebraska, a fourth of the population was foreign born. These immigrants transformed...
While older people and especially the cattleman that experienced the 1890s should stay grassland with soil unplowed their words fell on deaf ears (The Great Plow Up). As Worster described in The Great Plow Up, the American Breadbasket tended to increase production of wheat regardless of the commodity prices rose or fell. However, when prices rose, as they did with WWI and the government set wheat prices at twice the earlier rate, the Great Plains saw an influx of people looking to become wealthy, especially as the labour became mechanized (Steinberg,
Fighting for a premium position upon the 19th world stage, strengthening global competition necessitated the United States to engage in increasingly expansive trade policy’s and practices. Linking the Pacific and Atlantic coasts was seen as an essential element to the success of this plan, with railroads serving as the linkage’s cornerstone. However, the rail lines quickly became more than a means to traverse the vast expanses of the Midwest. Previously unexploited, the tall grass prairies of the American western front exuded an enormous sum of rich natural resources. Cheap nature, worthy of great exploitation. Access though, had long been problematic, limiting the tremendous potential for capital accumulation. Expansive 19th century railroad
Egan notes, “No group of people took a more dramatic leap in lifestyle or prosperity, in such a short time, than wheat farmers on the Great Plains” (Egan 42). The revenue from selling wheat far exceeded the cost of producing the wheat, so the large profit attracted people to produce more and more wheat. On top of the high profit from wheat, the Great War caused the price of wheat to rise even more. The supply of wheat rose with the price, but Egan points to information to demonstrate that the rapid increase in production can lead to overproduction, which is damaging to the land. Also, the invention of the tractor also lead to overproduction of the land by creating the ability to dramatically cut the time it took to harvest acres. When the prices for wheat began to fall due to overproduction, this caused the farmers to produce even more output to be able to make the same earnings as when the prices were higher. The government also played a part in promoting the overproduction of the land. The Federal Bureau of Soils claimed that, “The soil is the one indestructible, immutable asset that the nation possessed. It is the one resource that cannot be exhausted, that cannot be used up” (Egan 51). Egan points to factors such as a high profit margin, the Great War, tractors, increased outputs when wheat prices fell, and governmental claims that caused the people to overproduce the land of the Great Plains. Egan then gives examples of how the overproduction destroyed the land. Egan explains that the farmers saw their only way out was to plant more wheat. This overproduction tore up the grass of the Great Plains, thus making the land more susceptible to the severe dust storms of the Dust
Like many Norwegians in the late 1800’s my ancestors made the expedition from Norway to America in pursuit of a better life. The most common route that most Norwegian natives would voyage was from Norway to New York, and then they would colonize in the Great Plains in the upper Midwest. Which encompassed states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, or the Dakotas. Most Norwegians preferred to settle in rural a area, which was what these states offered, as well as the possibility to stay in close proximity with other Norwegian immigrants.
Seavoy, Ronald E. "Railroads." An Economic History of the United States: From 1607 to the Present. New York: Routledge, 2006. 188-200. Print.
Some people even came out West on the Transcontinental Railroad that was recently built. The settlers could even buy the land on the plains from the Rail Company. The rail road company had been granted great tracks of land by the United States government on both sides of the railroad and was later sold to settlers. The Native Americans suffered from this flow of people from the east and this would change their lives forever. There were many struggles and the quest to just stay alive is why today we call it the “Wild West”. Especially when a good number of them were dishonest scoundrels or just drifters and adventurers. Plus, most of them were armed.
The Homestead Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. This act set off a large movement westward resulting in the transfer of 270 million acres of public land to private individuals. The new law established a three-fold homestead acquisition process: filing an application, improving the land, and filing for deed of title. Any U.S. citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. Government could file an application and lay claim to 160 acres of surveyed Government land. For the next five years, the homesteader had to live on the land and improve it by building a dwelling and growing crops. After five years,
American farmers found themselves facing hard times after the Civil War. In the West, the railroad had opened up enormous opportunities. Farmers were now able to cultivate land that had previously been to far from the Eastern markets to make a profit. However, that opportunity came at a price. The farmers increasing dependence on the railroads and other commercial interests made them an easy target for exploitative business practices.
Before industrialization became big, farmers used to grow their own food, make their own clothing, and bartered for their other needs. Now, with the high prices, farmers were forced to grow single "cash" crops like wheat or corn, and use their profits to buy other necessities at the general store.
Thousands of Americans started selling off their land in the Midwest and using the money to buy things such as ox and wagons to travel west. They also bought things such as cows, horses, chickens, and pigs to use as food and labor. Americans had to be careful with what they chose to bring of their journey to Oregon since they could only carry so much in a covered wagon. Mainly people chose to bring the necessities and brought few keepsakes with them on their journey.
At first, the reform focused on the farms. Farmers did not gain the right to own their land; however, they got a fifty-year lease that they could ...
Farming had gotten so bad that farmer had to sell everything they had and move to the city for jobs so they could support their family. The average farm size back then was one hundred and fifty acres of ground, in today’s time that is hardly nothing. The average farm size today is four hundred and forty acres of ground which is a considerable good amount of farmland. When a farmer in the 1960’s had 335 acres of ground which, was a heck of a lot of ground back then made less than two thousand dollars of net cash per year. In today’s time the average farmer that owns five hundred and fifty acres of ground makes a net cash income of one hundred twenty one thousand six hundred dollars per year, that is quite the advancement in yearly earnings from 1960, to 2016