PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: "The Little Old Shanty on the Claim"
An essay provided as part of the PBS series, Frontier House, describes the housing options of pioneers on the prairies in eastern Montana.
Other
Conner Prairie Interactive History Park: Agriculture Implements
Photos and brief descriptions of farm tools used in farming the plains in the 19th century.
Other
Mnhs: Bonanza Farms
A brief description of the development of bonanza farms, which grew wheat in the Red River Valley. Hyperlinks to photographs of people working on these farms.
Other
Glidden Homestead: Barbed Wire: The Saga
Read the story of barbed wire, see a copy of the patent filed by Joseph F. Glidden, and find out why it was such an important invention for farmers.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire
This article from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), describes how barbed wire was important for ranchers in the West in the 1800s and how Joseph Glidden improved the original patent for barbed wire.
Other
Digital Revolution: Homestead National Monument of America
This information about the Homestead Act and homesteaders has been garnered from the National Park Service. Use the links at the bottom to find out about the history of the Act, the lives of the homesteaders, and what a tall grass...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: Westward Expansion: Economic Development
In the late nineteenth century, the West developed into a modern agricultural machine- at the expense of farmers.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Recreation and Leisure Time on the Frontier
Read about how the homesteaders on the American frontier added a little levity to their otherwise harsh frontier life, and in particular how women, how spent much time at home, worked to add variety to their lives. From a companion essay...
PBS
Pbs the West: Exodusters
Contains a description of the Exodusters and their impact on the American West through their immigration.
Other
Kansas Collection Books: Emigrant Life in Kansas
This site is a textual copy of a book written by an Englishman, Percy G. Ebbutt entitled Emigrant Life in Kansas, published in 1886. The book focuses on a young man's experiences on the prairie in Kansas. Written for an English audience.
Kansas Historical Society
Kansas Historical Society: Kansapedia: Barbed Wire
Provides information on the various types of barbed wire and its uses. Includes photographs of several varieties of barbed wire.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Nicodemus National Historic Site
This site from the National Park Service provides the history of Nidodemus, Kansas, first western town planned by and for African-Americans. Settled by exodusters, the town served as a symbol as a land of opportunity for blacks escaping...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Barn Raising
Article discusses barn raising in relation to the preparation that went into it before work began, its importance within a community, and the social pressure to participate.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Sharecropping
Features numerous facts about the history and events of sharecropping, a system of working land owned by others for a share of the yield.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Machines Help Farmers
Read about the advances made in agriculture during the last part of the 19th century which allowed for the increase in production of farm products.
Nebraska Studies
Nebraska Studies: Homestead Act: Searching for Water: Windmills
A description of how watermills work and how they were used on the Great Plains.
PBS
Pbs: Archives of the West: Photo: Exodusters Wait for Steamer
Photo of exodusters waiting for a steamboat to take them to the west in late 1870s.