Chapter 3
The First Bonanza Farm

The first people to agree with Power's plan was General George W Cass, president of the Northern Pacific, and Benjamin Cheney, a member of the board of directors. The two cashed in their bonds and authorized Power to select land in the Red River Valley for them.

In 1874, with 13 thousand acres staked out in the heart of the valley, the Cass-Cheney bonanza farm was born. Hired to run the operation was Oliver Dalrymple. Dalrymple had previously owned a very large farm himself in southern Minnesota. A three thousand acre operation that fell on hard times due to speculation on the grain market. Despite the failure of that farm, Dalrymple had a reputation of getting things done. He was called the "Minnesota Wheat King", and now without a farm, General Cass offered him the position of farm manager on a combined salary and commission basis.

Dalrymple's reputation was no fluke. He quickly turned a profit for the Cass Cheney farm, and with the earnings from his success started up his own bonanza farm operation. By 1896 Dalrymple had acquired fifty percent of the original bonanza operation.

The Red River Valley

In the 1870's wheat was the crop to be grown and the Red River Valley was ideal for wheat farming. Its cool, northern climate was perfect for spring wheat production, and the soil of the valley was some of the most fertile in the world. Centuries ago the valley was covered by a gigantic glacial lake. When the lake receded it left behind a flat, stoneless lakebed; an incredibly fertile plain due from the centuries of sediment deposit.