A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

Mennonite Immigration to the United States * 1. Lower Rhine to Germantown (1683-1702) 200 2. Swiss and Palatine Mennonites to Eastern Pa. (1707-56) 4,000 3. Swiss and Palatine Amish to Eastern Pa. (1738-56) 200 4. Alsace-Lorraine, Hessian and Bavarian Amish to Western Pa., Ohio, Illinois, Iowa (1815-60) 2,700 5. Swiss Mennonites to Ohio and Indiana (1817-60) 500 6. Palatine Mennonites to Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa (1825-60) 200 7. Prussian Mennonites to Nebraska and Kansas (1874-80) 300 H. Russian Mennonites to the prairie states (1874-80) 10,000 9. Russian Mennonites to Reedley, California (1930) 256 10. Scattered individuals (second half of the 19th century) from Germany, Switzerland, France, and Russia to states west of the Mississippi 200 Total immigrants 18,556 I. Mennonite Brethren— Pioneers on the American Plains The original Mennonite settlements in the 1870's were all established in prairie states which at that time were located on the "Western Frontier": Kansas, Nebraska, Dakota and Minnesota. A keen rivalry developed among these states in advertising the economic advantages and opportunities of their respective territories. The rail- HISTORY OF THE MENNON1TE BRETHREN CHURCH roads had a vested interest in securing thrifty and experienced settlers to become established in areas served by them. The Northern Pacific Railroad endeavored to interest them in northern Minnesota and the Dakotas; the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad tried to recruit settlers for Nebraska; and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, through its enthusiastic agent C. B. Schmidt, sought to win them for Kansas. Although none of the official delegates had favored Kansas for settlement, this state finally received the largest number of immigrants. 1 The majority of the Mennonite Brethren also settled here. 1. Mennonite Brethren in Kansas It would appear from the records that relatively few Mennonite Brethren families arrived with the first groups of immigrants. The majority came after 1876 and settled mainly in Marion, Harvey, Reno and McPherson counties. They experienced the usual hardships of pioneer life — primitive homes (sod houses), crop failures due to drought and grasshoppers, lack of markets for their produce, and limited educational opportunities. Although they originally attempted village settlements patterned after the Russian Mennonite colonies, they soon found this arrangement impractical and moved on to their own land to establish their farms. The most important economic contribution of the Mennonites was the introduction of hard winter wheat which they had brought with them from the Ukraine. After some experimentation it was discovered that the red Turkey winter wheat was best suited to the soil and the climatic conditions of Kansas. The Mennonite Brethren helped to make the "Sunflower State" the "breadbasket of America." It was relatively easy for Mennonite Brethren living i