— = aga a eT ee ome Mialen te ictie’ coh IS SM nce tee id et i eee sah eit ‘al ee Tera ee SES. 
= - . 
In Cooperation with the 
Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Minnesota 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1295 
Washington, D. C. March 23, 1925 
LAND SETTLEMENT AND COLONIZATION IN THE GREAT LAKES STATES 
By JouHn D. Buack, Chief, Division of Agricultural Economics, University of 
Minnesota, and L. C. Gray, Economist in Charge, Division of Land Economics, 
Bureau of Agricultural Economics 
CONTENTS 
Fage Page 
Characteristics of the region_______ 1 | Summary of settlers’ progress____--~- 67 
Physical Péeonditions2e= 2) ee ee 6 | Analysis of settlers’ progress on indi- 
Ownership of the land_-------_--_ 13 vidual <projects=— == eee 70 
Classes of land settlement agencies Other significant types of land settle- 
in Great Lakes States__-______-_ 5 ment asencles =o. a 74 
General description of projects sur- Land settlement from tbe standpoint 
VAS 1G10 Ce ey wie Ss Ieee eee, Dame et pet ae eT 20 Of, the) public interest22 224-222 =" 86 
Problems and methods of land settle- 
MOV Go oe oe ee eee 23 
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REGION 
In the days of free land and homesteading, a settler’s success de- 
pended upon his own courage, resourcefulness, and good judgment; 
under present conditions, it depends rather upon the policies and prac- 
tices of the land companies and other real estate agencies. Some of 
these are public-spirited, or else feel that good business requires them 
to consider carefully the welfare of their settlers; but they are more 
likely to be animated by profit-seeking motives than by considera- 
tion of the public interest. The Nation is therefore vitally concerned 
in this matter. Thousands of letters reach the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture and the various States every year from 
people who are interested in land settlement policies and in op- 
portunities for acquiring farms. 
The purpose of this bulletin is to analyze the methods of the 
different types of land companies and other related agencies. The 
region selected for this study is the northern portion of the three 
Great Lakes States—Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan—a region 
in which land settlement has been as active since 1900 as anywhere in 
the United States. Field agents of the United States Department 
of Agriculture and the cooperating States interviewed 153 land 
companies, real estate dealers, and agents operating in this territory 
and obtained progress records from 3,000 of the settlers. 
2094° op 1 
