The birth of big ag: the Bonanza farms of the late 19th century
Geology, the Homestead Act of 1862, railroads, modern machinery, and revolutionary new flour-milling methods all contributed to the bonanza farm boom.
Linda A. Cameron is the program manager for the MNopedia project at the Minnesota Historical Society. She received the Theodore C. Blegen award for the best staff-written article in Minnesota History (2010). Her projects with the Minnesota Historical Society include research and web editing for the Minnesota’s Greatest Generation and Becoming Minnesotan projects, and educational program development for historic sites and museums.
Geology, the Homestead Act of 1862, railroads, modern machinery, and revolutionary new flour-milling methods all contributed to the bonanza farm boom.
A target of racial prejudice throughout his life, Wheaton believed in the political process as a means to improve the state’s civil rights laws.
By Linda A. Cameron
June 9, 2015