In the wheat frenzy of the late nineteenth century, vast corporate 'bonanza' farms spread across the Red River Valley, worked by armies of hired hands and steam machinery.
In the decades after the railroad reached the Red River Valley, a peculiar and spectacular form of agriculture took hold: the bonanza farm. These were enormous operations, some spanning tens of thousands of acres, owned by investors and railroad interests and devoted almost entirely to a single crop — hard red spring wheat, grown on a scale the world had never seen.
Wheat as Far as the Eye Could See
Worked by seasonal armies of hired laborers and the latest steam-powered machinery, the bonanza farms were the agricultural marvels of their age, drawing journalists and tourists to gawk at fields that ran to the horizon. They advertised the valley's fertility to the world and helped draw the wave of settlers who would follow.
From the almanac's reckoning:
- Bonanza farms spanned tens of thousands of acres in the Red River Valley.
- They grew wheat on a vast scale with hired crews and steam machinery.
- Most broke into smaller family farms within a generation.
The great farms did not last; rising land values and the pull of family homesteading broke most of them into smaller holdings within a generation. But their brief reign left a lasting image. The almanac counts the bonanza farms among the most dramatic episodes in the settling of the plains.
Elsewhere in the Almanac
Statehood at Last: North Dakota Joins the Union in 1889
After decades as a territory, the northern half of Dakota entered the Union as a state in 1889, its admission so entwined with its southern twin that the order was deliberately obscured.
The Métis and the Red River Carts of Pembina
At Pembina in the north, the Métis people forged a distinct culture of the buffalo hunt and the trade trail, their squealing wooden carts once a familiar sight across the plains.
The Powwow and the Living Culture of the Plains Nations
Far from a relic, the powwow endures as a vibrant celebration of song, dance and community among the plains nations, drawing dancers and drums from across the continent.