Bonanza farms
Bonanza farms
Bonanza farms were very large farms in
the United States performing large-scale
operations, mostly growing and harvesting
wheat. Bonanza farms were made possible
by a number of factors including: the
efficient new farming machinery of the
1870s, the cheap abundant land available
during that time period, the growth of
eastern markets in the U.S., and the
completion of most major railroads.
Most bonanza farms were owned by
companies and run like factories, with
professional managers. The first bonanza
farms were established in the Red River
Valley in Dakota Territory, and Minnesota
[1]
in the mid-1870s. They were located close
Fall plowing, Dalrymple Farms, D.T. 1876 by Frank Jay Haynes
to the Northern Pacific Railroad which
transported their wheat to market. Investors also organized bonanza farms farther west.
There were many Bonanza Farms in North Dakota; a number of them are still preserved.[2]
Role of farm technology
Bonanza farmers pioneered the development of farm technology and
economics. Steam engines were used for motive power in plowing as
much as 41 years before the modern farm tractor made its first
appearance. Plows and combine harvesters drawn by steam tractors
prowled the landscape in the 1880s and 1890s, well before
mechanization of the smaller midwestern farms. The division of labor
was applied in bonanza farms generations before family farms adapted
to these modern ways. Farm boys from the midwest, working on
bonanza farms in the early 20th century, transplanted these ideas to
Corn Belt homesteads and built larger farms as the century progressed.
(An example is Fred Geier, of Lynn Township, McLeod County,
Minnesota and Boon Lake Township, Renville County, Minnesota,
Marsh Self Binder, Red River Valley, D.T.
[3]
who travelled to the Dakotas in the early 20th century and became a
1877
progressive farmer and custom thresher and miller at a time when
others in the townships were still farming with horses on a very small scale. Other than his role as an inventor of the
Geier Hitch, this may well have been his most significant contribution to society). They were also used to grow one
type of crop for profit on a large estate.
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Bonanza farms
Dependence on migrant labor and demise of bonanza farms
Migrant labor was a necessary part of bonanza farming. At planting and harvesting times foremen often supervised
some 500 to 1000 extra workers on a bonanza farm. When weather and market conditions were good, bonanza farms
made large profits; buying seeds, and equipment in bulk meant lower production costs. But in times of drought or
low wheat prices, their profits fell. As the Red River Valley developed, the necessity to use Mexican migrant labor
or bracero labor distinguished the former area of the Bonanza farms from their local competitors, family farmers.
Family farmers, with fewer workers to pay and less money invested in equipment, could better handle
boom-and-bust cycles. Thus by the 1890s most bonanza farms had broken up into smaller farms.
Bagg farm
The Frederick A. and Sophia Bagg Bonanza Farm is a preserved example of a bonanza farm, located in southeastern
corner of North Dakota.[4] The Bagg Bonanza Farm was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005.
References
[1] Nolan, Edward W. (1983). Northern Pacific views: The railroad photography of F. Jay Haynes, 1876-1905. Helena, MT: Montana Historical
Society Press. pp. 7. ISBN 0-917298-11-X.
[2] Lauren McCroskey (September 25, 1990). National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Submission: Bonanza Farms of North
Dakota (http:/ / www. nps. gov/ nhl/ designations/ samples/ nd/ Bagg Bonanza. pdf) PDF (32 KB). National Park Service
[3] Nolan, Edward W. (1983). Northern Pacific views: The railroad photography of F. Jay Haynes, 1876-1905. Helena, MT: Montana Historical
Society Press. pp. 9. ISBN 0-917298-11-X.
[4] Delia Hagen, Ann Emmons, Janene Caywood, and Geoff Cunfer (September 2002). National Historic Landmark Nomination: Frederick A.
and Sophia Bagg Bonanza Farm / 32 RI 5 (http:/ / www. nps. gov/ nhl/ designations/ samples/ nd/ Bagg Bonanza. pdf) PDF (260 KiB).
National Park Service
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 (http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/106wheat/
106wheat.htm)
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Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
Bonanza farms Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=511962957 Contributors: Accounting4Taste, Adamtrevillian, Aholden12592, Avono, Bobo192, CanisRufus, Darth Panda,
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:BonanzaFarmRedRiverDT1876Haynes.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:BonanzaFarmRedRiverDT1876Haynes.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors:
Frank Jay Haynes
File:MarshSelfBinderDTHaynes1877.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:MarshSelfBinderDTHaynes1877.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Frank Jay Haynes
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