Bonanza Farms in the Red River Valley - Minnesota Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Long Description:
Bonanza farms, huge acreages created from the sale of land by the Northern Pacific Railroad to its investors to cover its debts, covered thousands of acres and produced large wheat crops. The absentee landowners hired local managers to run the farms. Through the creation of bonanza farms, Minnesota and North Dakota — and the Red River Valley in particular — became one of the country's largest wheat producing areas. Between 1875 and 1890, bonanza farms became highly profitable through the use of new machinery and huge crews of cheap hired labor. Over time the land was exhausted and the great farms were no longer profitable. The investors sold or rented the land to smaller farmers until, by the 1920s, the last remnants of the bonanza period faded away.

Marker Type:: Other

Visit Instructions:
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Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   6/21/2006 MNSearchers visited it

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