Fergus County, Montana (1900-1945)
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1997 The evelopmeD nt of a New Deal Land Policy: Fergus County, Montana (1900-1945). Melissa Gilbert Wiedenfeld Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Wiedenfeld, Melissa Gilbert, "The eD velopment of a New Deal Land Policy: Fergus County, Montana (1900-1945)." (1997). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 6608. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/6608 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. 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THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW DEAL LAND POLICY: FERGUS COUNTY, MONTANA (1900-1945) A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Melissa Gilbert Wiedenfeld B.A., Kansas Wesleyan University, 1981 M.A., Texas Tech University, 1983 December 1997 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9820762 UMI Microform 9820762 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments Many people helped with this undertaking. Professor Burl Noggle gave me his time, even after becoming Distinguished Alumni Professor Emeritus. Dr. Charles Shindo discussed the topic with me many times, helping clarify the focus of the dissertation. Dr. Robert Becker offered his invaluable editorial expertise. Dr. Paul Paskoff assisted with statistics. Dr. Gaines Foster and Dr. Stanley Hilton generously agreed to help at the last minute. Many others helped with the research in various ways, including Elaine Bolger at the Denver Branch of the National Archives, Jim Muhn of the Bureau of Land Management in Denver, Bill Volk of the Bureau of Land management in Billings, and Curt Lund of the Montana Agricultural Statistics Service in Helena. Everyone at the Montana Historical Society in Helena was helpful, especially Bob Clark, Dorothea Simonson, and Diane Wilkinson. I owe Kirby Lambert of the MHS special thanks for help at the society as well as his generous hospitality, his good cooking, and many years of friendship. At Middleton Library, Roberta Ruiz expedited many difficult interlibrary loans. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dr. Connie Evans and Dr. Karen Fritz both provided advice, encouragement, and example. Dr. David Good provided zoological and statistical advice. Finally, I owe the greatest debt to Dr. David A. Wiedenfeld, who went before me and showed me the way. I could not have completed this dissertation without his personal encouragement, unwavering support, and constant faith. Amy Wiedenfeld made it all worthwhile. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Acknowledgments.......................................... ii List of Illustrations..................................... v Abstract vi Chapter 1 Introduction...................................1 Chapter 2 The Arid Landscape: Fergus County, Montana........................ 23 Chapter 3 The Homestead Boom and Economic Prosperity in Fergus County.............................. 42 Chapter 4 Montana Farmers Go Bust...................... 82 Chapter 5 The Emerging Land Utilization Movement.......138 Chapter 6 The Homestead Movement in Reverse: The New Deal Land Utilization Program........ 179 Chapter 7 The Land Utilization Program Implemented.....225 Chapter 8 The Results................................. 258 Chapter 9 Conclusion.................................. 287 Bibliography ........................................... 307 Vita 324 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. List of Illustrations Figure 1 Map of Montana Counties......................... 23 Figure 2 Map of Fergus County, Montana................... 24 Figure 3 Annual Rainfall for Lewistown................... 58 Figure 4 Montana Wheat Prices Before World War 1......... 74 Figure 5 Montana Farms and Wheat Prices during the Economic Boom........................75 Figure 6 Montana Wheat and Cattle Prices................. 77 Figure 7 Index of Montana Wheat Prices and the Consumer Price Index, 1900-1919.........78 Figure 8 Wheat Prices Compared to Yield.................. 85 Figure 9 Montana Wheat Earnings Per Acre Harvested.......86 Figure 10 Index of Montana Wheat Prices and the Consumer Price Index, 1900-1939.........91 Figure 11 Montana Wheat Earnings Per Acre Compared to Percent of Crop Harvested....................92 Figure 12 A Comparison of Wheat and Cattle Prices from 1900 through 1945......................... 97 Figure 13 Index of Consumer Price Index, Farm Taxes and Earnings Per Acre of Wheat in Montana..... 101 Figure 14 Farm Tenancy in Fergus County and Montana..... 267 Figure 15 Fergus County Pasture Land.................... 271 Figure 16 Number of Farms and Average Farm Size in Fergus County, 1925-1950 ...................... 273 Figure 17 Number of Farms and Average Farm Size in Fergus County................................. 274 Figure 18 Amount of Crop Land in Fergus County.......... 276 Figure 19 Wheat Acreage in Fergus County................ 277 Figure 20 Fergus County Wheat Yield Per Acre............ 279 Figure 21 Fergus County Earnings Per Acre of Wheat...... 281 Figure 22 Montana Farm Population, 1920-1945............ 283 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Encouraged by the Enlarged Homestead Act, higher than average rainfall, and various boosters, thousands of Americans homesteaded in Montana and the northern Great Plains during the 1910s. The agricultural economy boomed during World War I, but the post-war contraction during the 1920s, coupled with drought, caused serious economic problems for farmers. In response to the problems in the agricultural economy, a Land Utilization movement emerged, led by agricultural economists such as Lewis C. Gray. Land utilizationists believed that a readjustment of land use would correct the problems in the agricultural economy. Toward that end they sought changes in federal land policy, especially on the Great Plains, because of the problems caused by cultivating submarginal land — land that could not consistently raise crops. Federal land laws, including the Homestead Act, had all but guaranteed that land on the plains would not be put to its best use. The situation worsened during the Great Depression and subsequently, under the New Deal, many of the ideas of the Land Utilization movement came to fruition. During the mid-1930s, the federal government made dramatic changes to land policy, ending the homestead movement and initiating a Land Utilization Program that repurchased failed submarginal farmland and created a new public domain. The program purchased more than 11 million vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. acres, including nearly 100,000 acres in Fergus County, Montana. Through the purchase of submarginal agricultural land and the conversion of that land to grazing,