When the Homestead Act was passed in 1862, people were slow to jump on the offer of 160 acres of free land, that is until the railroad launched a huge ad campaign to draw people West for what they promised to be a land of abundance.
The end of the open range period also inspired people to establish their own places in Montana, and as people started to experiment with the best way to utilize this wide open country for farming, some misguided theories led to disastrous results. For this episode, I read from a chapter in 56 Counties: A Montana Journey that explores this vital period in our history.
