Frontier Woman: The Life of a Woman Homesteader on the Dakota Frontier

by Walker D. Wyman

Retold from the original notes and letters of Grace Fairchild, a Wisconsin teacher, who went to South Dakota in 1898.

Genres: Nonfiction, Historical

115 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Author Walker D. Wyman was a Professor of History at University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about Grace Fairchild. She was a teacher in South Dakota, when she was 18 she married a 48 year old man who wanted to move to western South Dakota and homestead. He was no help and only interested in horses and made her life even harder than it had to be. She raised 9 children and built the homestead up mostly by herself even before they separated in 1930. The life on the prairie was so hard, it is hard to image how they managed to survive. How she was able to keep the homestead going is amazing.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history. Since it wasn't chronological, it was a little hard to follow.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the edited autobiography of Grace Fairchild, a woman who moved from Wisconsin to South Dakota in 1902 to marry and homestead. Some might think an autobiography would be dull, but I found Mrs. Fairchild's words to be strikingly matter-of-fact and blunt, and hilarious in their tell-it-like-it-is tone. For example, she'll say of the neighbors something like, "They had few worldly possessions, and even less common sense."

Life on the frontier was never dull. Mrs. Fairchild kills rattlesnakes, stitches up wounds, chases animals, and quite honestly runs the entire homestead, since her husband was "not suited" and "too old" for homesteader life. She had many children, and has some great parenting tales. During prohibition, her children thought they could get away with making "homebrew", but their mother didn't let on that she knew about it the whole time. She waited until the brew was almost done and dumped Epsom salt into the beer. The kids had their friends over to drink the beer and all got sick from it, but never tried to make their own homebrew again!

While we learn about these homesteading times in our history books, it was both enjoyable and enlightening to read a first-hand account. From Mrs. Fairchild's first experience with a telephone to surviving droughts and plagues of grasshoppers, the reader learns history and enjoys true stories the whole time.

[Sharon Zink · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was not that of a professional journalist, but it was good, and the book was interesting. It is the story of a young woman who takes two babies and goes out to South Dakota to join her husband who is twice her age. He is lazy and complaining, but the wife manages the homestead and is successful. A very enjoyable book.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting

[Kiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as research for my current project and it was excellent source material. The voice of Grace Fairchild is engaging and her adventures are wonderful. There are idioms at the chapter headings that made me laugh out loud like: "it was so cold that when he died they just sharpened his feet and drove him into the ground."

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading "Frontier Woman: by Walker D. Wyman.
"The life of a woman homesteader on the Dakota Frontier".
"Retold from original notes and letters of Grace Fairchild, a Wisconsin teacher
who went to South Dakota in 1898."
She married a man who she described as "inadequate" & not suited for the frontier life. Grace did most if not all, the work on the homestead.
The South Dakota State University recognized her in 1952 with the title of
"Eminent Homemaker" & now her picture hangs in the Hall of Fame.
I've always reading about the brave people who went into the unknown, the frontier, to homestead plots of land.

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the edited auto-biography of a South Dakota homesteader who moved "west of the Missouri" in 1902 with her husband and several children. Her husband was a widower with a son as old as she was and was really ill-prepared to live on the frontier. She ended up keeping the family together and fed by doing what she needed to do. In those days the nearest neighbor was a mile or more away. A facinating look at those times.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an edited version of Grace Fairchild's story of her life homesteading in South Dakota. Very fascinating! My only complaint would be that she groups everything thematically instead of chronologically, but it was still an easy read that gave some really good insights into early 20th century homesteading.