Economic Aspects of Land Settlement in the Cut-Over Region of the Great Lakes States

Report Introduction: The large area comprising roughly the northern two-thirds of the three Lakes States, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, constitutes a region of more or less retarded development. During the approximate three-quarters of a century since these States were first thrown open to occupancy, the tide of settlement has not only fully occupied and developed the southern parts of the three States but has flowed on to areas far to the westward. The retarded development to the north has been due in large part to the heavy covering of pine and hemlock and hardwood timber, combined with unfavorable soil and climatic conditions, over much of the region. The cutting of the timber left much of the land covered with refuse, which has since been grown over with brush and second growth, and the pine stumps rot slowly and are hard to remove. Meanwhile the large tracts of open land in the prairie States and Great Plains have invited settlement. The rate of development since 1920 has also been affected seriously by the greatly reduced demand for farm land. Within the region itself there are great variations in degree of development even within a relatively small section. Many of the best adapted portions for agricultural and recreational purposes have already been developed to a considerable degree. Much of the remainder is not suitable for agricultural development under any probable demand for land in the Nation as a whole or in this particular region. The development in the next decade or two will occur mostly in sections adjacent to developed communities and established markets. This circular describes and presents some of the fundamental conditions affecting the development of this cut-over region and summarizes briefly the progress that settlers may expect to make in developing cut-over land farms. Because of the perennial interest in the possibilities and opportunities for agricultural development in this large region, this study should be of special interest to prospective and established settlers and to land-selling agencies operating in this region or similar regions.