Although promotional literature depicted the Great Plains as a land of milk and honey, agriculture in this treeless, arid region faced greater difficulties than on any previous frontier. Costs were high, the threat of drought ever-present, and fire, tornadoes and grasshopper plagues could bring disaster overnight. Moreover, living conditions, at least initially, were harsh. With little timber around, shelter consisted of a one-room sod-house made of three foot sections of thick turf with a door, small window, and only the crudest of furniture. The “soddies” were warm in winter and cool in summer; they could withstand strong winds and were safe from prairie fires. But sod roofs leaked in the rain, becoming heavy and prone to collapse. And when dry, they emitted a fallout of dirt, grass and insects, which was often intercepted by a netting of cheesecloth. Although many families gave up the struggle and returned East, others persevered and in time, prevailed. The problem of fencing was solved through the invention of barbed wire; deep wells and steel windmills provided a steady though scant supply of water; and “dry farming” — deep plowing and frequent harrowing — served to hold moisture in the soil. Learning from experience, farms gradually shifted from corn to wheat as the main grain crop. And they eventually increased their productivity with improved labor-saving machinery like the Oliver steel-chilled plow and McCormick reaper.

Tags: Frontier, soddies