Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “This Land of Ours”
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Early settlers discovered that the Great Plains were not all that great. They found very harsh climate with tornadoes, blizzards, drought, hailstorms, floods and grasshoppers. It made for high risks and ruined many crops and many settlers that became financially ruined and either protested through the populist movement or went back …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. The federal government issued 160-acre tracts to about 400,000 families who settled a new land under the Homestead Act 1862. Even larger numbers purchased lands at very low cost as new railroads tried to create new markets. The railroads advertised heavily in Europe and brought over hundreds of thousands of farmers …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. The western Great Plains became open range country hosting cattle ranching. In the spring and fall ranchers held roundups where the cowboys would brand new calves, treat them and sort them for sale. Ranching began early in Texas gradually moving northward. Cowboys drove cattle north to the railroad lines, cities like …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. The British government attempted to restrict westward expansion with the ineffective proclamation line of 1763 that was abolished by the new United States government, m. And, the first major movement west of the Appalachians began in Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina as soon as the war was over. Pioneers housed themselves …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Today, when we think of the Northwest territory, we think of Montana, Utah, Oregon, and Washington state. But in 1788, American pioneers to the “Northwest Territory” established Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement. By 1813, the Western frontier had reached the Mississippi river in St. Louis, St. Louis was …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. The history of agriculture in the United States, of course, goes back to the first English settlers. In colonial America, agriculture was the primary livelihood for 90% of the population. In fact, most towns were shipping points for the export of agricultural products. Most farms were geared toward production for the …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the American victory in the War of 1812, plus the building of canals and the introduction of steamboats, new opportunities opened up in agriculture. And in times of rapid economic growth, a farmer could still improve the land he was on for far more …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. One-room schoolhouses are an important part of American agriculture history. Early settlers knew the importance of education since a large portion of the population lived in small rural communities or isolated rural areas. The local one-room school was the answer, often built by nearby farmers. In fact, most of the teachers …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. A farmland auction usually draws a good-sized crowd, but on a bitter, cold February morning in 2025, temperatures outside in central Iowa nearly zero, a group so large it was standing room only. Why? They were watching an Iowa farm change hands for the first time since 1882. Six-hundred-thirty-six (636) acres …
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. One-room schoolhouses are part of American agriculture history, the Eureka Schoolhouse in Springfield, Vermont, one of the earliest recorded one-room schools built in 1785. As settlers moved west, the one-room schoolhouse model moved with them. Abraham Lincoln attended a one-room school in 1822 in rural Illinois. One-room schools were still being …
