Dutch Transplanters on the Grasslands and the Fruits of Chain Migration

by Brian W. Beltman

This narrative describes the transoceanic and internal migration pattern and resulting settlements across the Midwestern grasslands by Dutch immigrants in the nineteenth century. The transplantation process involved repeated pioneering and community formation that exhibited persistent culture transfer and ethnic identity, even as necessary adaptations occurred because of environmental imperatives and contextual change. The Dutch settlers maintained distinct enclaves in Marion and Sioux counties in Iowa and in Douglas and Bon Homme counties in South Dakota. This study retells their history using fresh insights into precise configurations of the colonies with demographic specificity and discussion of economic and social attributes. Special attention focuses on agricultural developments in the emerging Corn Belt. The book includes maps and tables as well as two biographical accounts of individual immigrants that provide concrete examples to flesh out the larger portrait of the migration and resettlement experience.

400 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2020