Homesteaders: living and farming on the Plains

Why did people move to the Plains:

• The land on the plains was cheap to buy

• Railroad companies advertised the plains as a great place for farming

• Formerly enslaved people and women could by land on the plains and escape the south

• A banking crisis of 1870 meant that people were out of work so had little to lose

• The homestead act offered people 160 acres of land for free for five years

• Half a million homesteaders moved to the plains in the 1870s

Difficulties of the Plains:

• Getting supplies was difficult as towns were a long way away and so people had to improvise with what they had

• There were few trees on the plains so there was barely any building material for houses

• The lack of wood to burn meant that winters were very cold

• Lack of clean water meant that cholera and typhoid were common especially amongst children, killing many

• People became isolated and lonely

• The plains were open so harsh winds destroyed the crops

• Ploughing the land was difficult as it had not been farmed before

• Extreme heat meant that there were fires and crops struggled to grow with little water

• Buffalo and wild cattle trampled across farmland and ruined crops

Homesteader's solutions

• Homesteaders built their homes out of sod instead of wood as they were cheap and quick to construct

• With more people moving onto the plains, Homesteaders came together and built churches and schools with small stores and communities being set up

• Wind pumps were drilled into the ground to bring up water

• Farmers learnt dry farming techniques and brought over new types of crops which required less water

• Barbed wire was a cheap solution for enclosing areas of land

• Homesteaders came together to plough the land

• Women helped with the farming

• Crops were shared with families

• Buffalo dung was collected to be burnt for cooking and heating