Homestead Act Launches New Era

The future seemed especially promising – so much so, in fact, that most Montana homesteaders readily heeded the calls by government officials and bankers to "do their patriotic duty" and reinvest their profits in more land and machinery. "Food will Win the War!" the era's propaganda posters proclaimed, and with readily available credit, Montana's homesteaders mortgaged virtually everything in hopes of cashing in on the soaring economy.

By Armistice Day in 1918, the state's population had climbed to an astounding 769,590, according to one governmental publication. Remarkably, Montana's populati...