The Homestead Years in Dakota

Many homesteaders left uncomfortable lives of poverty, but Homestead Fever could cause otherwise sensible people to leave beautiful settings for the semi-arid, treeless plains.

The typical homesteader was an immigrant. Attracted by advertising by the railroads that had land grant property to sell, they came from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Russia, England, Ireland, and Canada. By 1890, foreign-born people and their children made up about 70 percent of the population in North Dakota.

The new Dakota farmer may have spent a short time somewhere else in this country, but he moved to Dakota Territory with the idea of setting up a permanent home for his family.
Many pioneers' families started out with not much more than a shack with whitewashed walls. People who settled along a river could find wood for log homes. Those laying claims on the open prairie could use blocks of sod to build a home. Floors were likely just the earth below the home.
Many homesteaders felt isolated and lonely. Winters were long. Towns were important centers for disseminating news and mail.

Overwork added to farm women's loneliness and isolation. There are many accounts of farm women who had not been away from the farm for a year or more at a time. Some hadn't been into the nearby towns for two to three years.

Annual fairs, church services, shopping trips, and visits with neighbors made up the social life of most farm people. Farm families played games and read to their children.
The heavy work was breaking the sod. The plowshares had to be sharpened every night to get through the tough sod. Some pioneers had little equipment or had to hire another farmer to break their land.
Settlers were driven by a consuming ambition to succeed. They rose well before dawn and worked until dark.

The hardships of pioneering proved too much for many who left a few years after they had come. Many were too poor to leave. For those who stayed and did well, pioneering was an adventure and they developed a love of the land.