These images, of which about a third appear in color, cover a wide spectrum of activities that kept the settlers busy from dawn to dusk - from daily chores on the farms to activities centered on the schools, churches and social events. Several early homes built of sod and lumber are seen as well. The CD also captures the ethnic diversity of the plains, with Norwegian Americans, Icelandic Americans, Canadian Americans, British Americans, and others appearing in many of the shots.

Witness how early settlers converted untamed prairie to lush farmland on the Northern Great Plains at the turn of the 20th century in this rare and historic CD.

It was the lure of free or inexpensive land that drew thousands of settlers to the Northern Great Plains. In a short span of just 35 years, over 350,000 immigrants entered North Dakota Territory alone. The completion of the railroad gave further impetus to this influx, which saw people use every other means of transport available to them as well, including ox-drawn wagons, stagecoaches and steamboats.

The settlers were offered the option of either buying land at reasonable prices from the railroad or living on and improving 160 acres of homestead land for a number of years, after which the land was theirs. They were also promised an additional 160 acres of land, which they could claim by planting and maintaining trees on the prairie.

The Northern Pacific Railroad and investors from eastern states, however, invested in large farms, which they used for cultivation of wheat. These lavish farms - some of them covering 65,000 acres, were highly successful and profitable ventures and were soon dubbed ‘bonanza farms’.

The settlers, though, faced many hardships and difficulties before they settled down on the rich but untamed land.

This CD presents a vibrant slice of life on the Northern Great Plains through vivid photographs some captured on evocative black and white film and others hand-painted in exciting hues.

Sample thumbnails taken from the collection. Click on image to view larger picture.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

"History owes a huge debt to one man who spent sixty years of his life in recording the story of the settlement of the Great Northern Plains in a most unusual manner. This outstanding historian is none other than Fred Hultstrand, whose fascination for even the tiniest aspects of life - which others may easily have ignored or taken for granted - and his equally compelling desire to record his observations on film resulted in a fabulous collection of photographs.

This CD, with over 900 graphic photographs taken by Hultstrand, portrays a diverse subject content, ranging from early sod homes, to farming scenes, to small town life, to social events, and to education on the prairie. It also records the transformation of a part of the American frontier in the short span of forty years, from the early 1880s to the 1920s.

As a historical record, these images are unquestionably priceless, but they serve a much larger purpose than merely recording events. These photographs speak of a great conquest - that of man over circumstances and pays rich tribute to the families who endured each challenge thrown at them with spirited determination.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and you don’t have to look beyond this rare and historic CD for proof of this. I am certain that this CD will serve to enrich and broaden the scope of understanding of life in the Northern Great Plains at the turn of the 20th century in a delightful manner and that it will be a valuable addition to any collection of historic CDs."