Date of Award
5-2018
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Cultural Resources Management Archaeology: M.S.
Department
Anthropology
College
College of Liberal Arts
First Advisor
Mark Muñiz
Second Advisor
Rob Mann
Third Advisor
Debra Gold
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
Minnesota, farmstead, Irish diaspora
Abstract
The late 19th century in Minnesota was largely shaped by immigration, and Benton County was no exception. The region was a prime location for families, providing land that was both fertile and abundant. It was common for a couple members of a family to head west first, the rest of the family joining at a later time. Families could find land near each other and stick together in a new country. Benton County boasts a number of farmstead sites from this period of time. In 1873, John Keefe homesteaded one of these farms.
Diversity in population was not the only change happening in the region during this time. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Minnesota saw a shift in agriculture, with the trend moving from Wheat Monoculture to Dairying and Diversification between 1875 and 1885 (Granger and Kelly 2005). Historical archive research, research of archaeological data, and artifact analysis were all applied to answer the research question: was the Keefe farmstead originally built for a Wheat Monoculture economy, or as part of the shift toward Dairying and Diversification? Through the research involved, we see that the Keefe farmstead was built as a diversified farm, and can also achieve a richer understanding of the Benton County landscape during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Recommended Citation
Gilbertson, Theresa, "Transitions: The Study of a Late Nineteenth Century Minnesota Farmstead During a Period of Agricultural Transition" (2018). Culminating Projects in Cultural Resource Management. 22.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/crm_etds/22
