Subsistence Existence

Subsistence Existence. 1857 Farm. , Transforming Minnesota's forests and prairies into profitable, Euro-American style farms took many years of hard labor. Trees had to be cut down, stumps removed, and the soil plowed before crops could be planted. It often took a family of settlers 15-20 years to clear a 160-acre plot of land - a standard farmstead in the 1850s., Without nearby markets or stores, they had to be self-sufficient. The family relied on the resources of the land and the things they brought with them to create a new life. They used logs from the trees they had cleared to build their home and farm buildings. They grew good crops for their own consumption and raised the livestock they needed to survive. Only after the land was fully cleared could they shift their focus from basic survival to economic profit.,

Built: 1850s , Original Location: Jessenland Township, MN , Building Name: Berger Farm

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Did You Know? , Germans were the largest immigrant population in this area until 1910.

, The First Farmers , Native peoples were farming the river valleys of the Upper Midwest at least 1,000 years before the arrival of Euro-Americans. They grew corn, beans, squash, sunflowers, and goosefoot. Instead of turning the prairies of Minnesota into farmland, Native farmers planted their crops in the fertile floodplains alongside rivers., The Dakota practices small-scale agriculture along the Minnesota River and used it to supplement an abundance of wild food sources like bison, wild rice, and maple sugar. The Dakota's semi-nomadic lifestyle allowed them to follow seasonal patters of good and resource gathering. Some Native peoples, such as the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara of North Dakota, practiced agriculture more intensively. These groups lived in more permanent settlements and would often grow enough crops for themselves and for trade with neighboring people like the Dakota. A braided string of 54 to 56 ears of corn could be traded for one tanned bison hide., Companion Planting , Native farmers would often grow corn, beans, and squash in the same field. Corn would be planted in small mounds or ridges in groups of four to eight plants. The beans and squash would be planted in between the corn mounds. The tall corn stalks provide support to the vines of the bean plants. The bean plants provide nitrogen to the corn and squash plants. The large squash leaves provide shade to keep moisture in the soil, and the spines of the squash plants deter animals like raccoons from eating the harvest., When cooked and eaten together, corn and beans form a complete protein. Their seeds are can [sic] also be dried and stored for several years and used when other food sources are scarce. Squash can also be stored for long periods of time, especially when cut into strips and dried in the sun., , Image courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art., Protecting the Harvest , Preventing wildlife from eating the crops could mean the difference between hunger and abundance during a brutal winter. Women were often responsible for taking care of the gardens. One chore included creating scarecrows with bison hides and constructing scaffolding to keep watch over the ripening corn. This artwork from Seth Eastman depicts Dakota women scaring a large flock of birds away from their precious fields of corn.