![BonanzaFarmRedRiverDT1876Haynes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/BonanzaFarmRedRiverDT1876Haynes.jpg)
Bonanza farms were very large farms established in the western
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
during the late nineteenth century. They conducted large-scale operations, mostly cultivating and
harvesting
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
. Bonanza farms developed as a result of a number of factors, including the efficient new farming machinery of the 1870s, cheap abundant land available during that period, the growth of eastern markets in the U.S., and completion of most major railroads between the farming areas and markets.
Most bonanza farms were owned by companies and run like factories, with professional managers. The first bonanza farms were established in the mid-1870s in the
Red River Valley
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...
in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
and in
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...
, such as the
Grandin Farm. Developers bought land close to the
Northern Pacific Railroad
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by 38th United States Congress, Congress in 1864 and given ...
, for ease of transport of their wheat to market. Investors also organized bonanza farms farther west.
Many bonanza farms were established in this period in
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
; a number have been preserved.
Origins of Bonanza Farms
Bonanza farms were encouraged by
John Wesley Powell
John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...
who, by the 1870s, had found that the land he studied needed larger-scale irrigation systems that would lead to larger areas of land being taken care of. Powell, a geologist, asserted that family-owned farms that had been in use in accordance to the
Homestead Act of 1862
The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...
did not quite give the land the type of help required to keep it fit.
Though less numerous than family farms, the Bonanza operations began to be competitive with the smaller operations.
Role of farm technology
![MarshSelfBinderDTHaynes1877](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/MarshSelfBinderDTHaynes1877.jpg)
Bonanza farmers pioneered the development of farm technology and economics. They used
steam engines
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
to power plowing as much as 4 decades before the modern farm
tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
made its appearance -
plows
A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
and
combine harvester
The modern combine harvester, or simply combine, is a versatile machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops. The name derives from its combining four separate harvesting operations—reaping, threshing, gathering, and winnow ...
s drawn by steam tractors were used in the West in the 1880s and 1890s. The
division of labor
The division of labour is the separation of the tasks in any economic system or organisation so that participants may specialise (specialisation). Individuals, organizations, and nations are endowed with, or acquire specialised capabilities, and ...
was applied in bonanza farms generations before
family farms
A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family; it is sometimes considered to be an estate passed down by inheritance.
Although a recurring conceptual and archetypal distinction is that of a family farm ...
adapted to these modern ways. Farm boys from the
midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
, working on bonanza farms in the early 20th century, transplanted these ideas to
Corn Belt
The Corn Belt is a region of the Midwestern United States that, since the 1850s, has dominated corn production in the United States. In the United States, ''corn'' is the common word for maize. More generally, the concept of the Corn Belt con ...
homesteads and built larger farms as the century progressed. (An example is
Fred Geier, of
Lynn Township,
McLeod County, Minnesota
McLeod County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. At the 2020 census, the population was 36,771. Its county seat is Glencoe.
McLeod County comprises the Hutchinson, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area and is part of the Minneapolis-St. ...
and
Boon Lake Township, Renville County, Minnesota. Migrating to the Dakotas in the early 20th century, he became a progressive farmer; he performed custom
threshing
Threshing, or thrashing, is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.
History ...
and
milling at a time when others in the townships were farming with horses on a very small scale. In addition, he invented the
Geier Hitch.
Historic site
The
Frederick A. and Sophia Bagg Bonanza Farm
The Frederick A. and Sophia Bagg Bonanza Farm, also known as Bagg Bonanza Farm or F. A. Bagg Farm, is a former bonanza farm in Richland County, North Dakota, United States. Operated between about 1915 and 1935, the farm of the Baggs encompasses a ...
is located in southeastern corner of North Dakota. The preserved Bagg Bonanza Farm was designated as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 2005.
See also
*
History of agriculture in the United States#Wheat
*
Corporate farming
Corporate farming is the practice of large-scale agriculture on farms owned or greatly influenced by large companies. This includes corporate ownership of farms and selling of agricultural products, as well as the roles of these companies in influ ...
* ''
Days of Heaven
''Days of Heaven'' is a 1978 American romantic period drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz. Set in 1916, it tells the story of Bill and Abby, lovers who travel t ...
'' – film depiction of a fictional bonanza farm
References
{{reflist
* H. Drache, The Day of the Bonanza: A History of Bonanza Farming in the Red River Valley of the North (Lund Press, 1965)
External links
''Wheat Farms, Flour Mills, and Railroads: A Web of Interdependence,'' a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
History of agriculture in the United States