Monthly Archives: November 2016

19th Century, Agriculture, Business, farming, Food, History, Intercession, Minnesota, State Government

Bonanza Farms 1875

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1875
“Investors grow wheat on a grand scale in the Red River Valley. Their “bonanza farms” cover thousands of acres and are harvested by huge crews and the latest machinery.
A financial panic in 1873 stopped the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad to the Red River Valley. In order to pay back its Eastern investors, the bankrupt company allowed its investors to exchange their bonds for land. As a result, large urban investors immediately became owners of thousands of acres of land (unlike homesteaders who had to live on the land for five years to get 160 acres). The new owners turn the land into large-scale commercial farms run by hired managers with cheap labor and expensive machinery.” *

Lord, You hate corruption of any sort in any relationship. “The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.” Proverbs 11:1** This Panic of 1873, again at the hands of the railroads under federal authority, really stole land from the homesteaders. (The principle of sowing and reaping? The homesteaders just years before may have been party to land being swindled from the Dakota.) Anyway, we are people capable of both sharing and defrauding land from our neighbors.

Will You forgive us this debt? Will You cause restoration and repentance to grow in the heart of this State and Nation? Will You forgive Minnesotans’ resentments against the Federal Government? Will You forgive the Railroads for manipulating the Panic of 1873 to their benefit? Will You remove this curse from our land, skies, waters, and hearts? Thank you that You deal with us in such a generous manner!

http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
**http://biblehub.com/proverbs/11-1.htm

 

 

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19th Century, authors, Culture, farming, History, Intercession, Minnesota, Natural Disaster

Laura Ingalls in Minnesota May 1874 to Jul 1876

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May 1874 to July 1876

“Seven-year-old Laura Ingalls and her family settle 1.5 miles north of Walnut Grove along the banks of Plum Creek. Charles and Caroline Ingalls settle on the property in May 1874, declaring their intent to homestead it. After three consecutive years of crop failures they decide not to complete the homestead process and instead purchase the land in July 1876 from the U.S. government and immediately sell it and move to Iowa.” * 

In 1932 Laura Ingalls Wilder writes the story of the time that she, Pa, Ma, and sister Mary spent in their dugout house at Plum Creek. **

It may strange to say, Eternal Father, but almost nothing helps me see You more than the story of another human being. How many readers have had their minds opened to this era because an ordinary girl recorded the stories of herself, her family, and their everyday life!?! To me, Ms. Ingalls-Wilder demonstrates that every life is an adventure, each day is a universe, and that You are there profoundly in the simple moments. ***

I praise You for Laura Ingalls; both the author and her story! Will You bless our writers in each generation to see the value of their lives, and to tell their tales with such similar and stark honesty as she? Thank You for shaping her Minnesota experience, and blessing her with a heart to share her story! 

** “On the Banks of Plum Creek”; Newly illustrated, uniform ed. LC Online Catalog. Retrieved 2015-09-18.

*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Banks_of_Plum_Creek

 

 

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