Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920
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Golden Age of Agriculture

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Search on: Tractors | Carts & Wagons | Steam Engines | Plowing | Disking | Sowing | Harvesting Machinery | Windbreaks, Shelterbelts, etc.
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The "Golden Age of Agriculture" took place in the United States and North Dakota between 1900 and 1920. The average gross income of farms more than doubled during this period, and the value of these farms more than tripled. Between 1898 and 1915 close to 250,000 pioneers entered the state of North Dakota and railroad mileage increased from 2,662 to 5,226 miles. In 1905 the Legislature of North Dakota appropriated $20,000 to advertise the state. In 1909 the United States Congress passed the Enlarged Homestead Act, which allowed settlers in certain states to get a 320 acre claim in exchange for five years residency and making improvements on the land. North Dakota was included under this law in 1912, and the residence requirement was lowered from five to three years (seven months of each year for three years).

This booming era in American agriculture also prompted farmers to increase their acreage and productivity. Between 1898 and 1915 the acreage of wheat planted in North Dakota more than doubled from 4,300,000 acres to 9,400,000 acres and production grew from 69 million bushels to 159 million bushels. The increased use of machinery, ever larger and more powerful, was the key to the farmers' success. Among these later pioneers was the Pazandak family of Iowa, in search of more land for their growing family. Farming in North Dakota was not the same as in Iowa, the Pazandaks quickly learned. They adapted to their new environment, even planting tree shelterbelts for protection against the wind. They soon became North Dakota pioneers in the use of tractors and machinery.

Photo Icons

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Steam Engines and Tractors | Hired Hands | Golden Age of Agriculture
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Northern Great Plains: Photographs from the Fred Hultstrand and F.A. Pazandak Collections