Childhood on the Farm: Work, Play, and Coming of Age in the Midwest

As the United States transformed itself from an agricultural to an industrial nation, thousands of young people left farm homes for life in the big city. But even by 1920 the nation’s heartland remained predominantly rural and most children in the region were still raised on farms. Pamela Riney-Kehrberg retells their stories, offering glimpses—both nostalgic and realistic—of a bygone era.

As Riney-Kehrberg shows, the experiences of most farm children continued to reflect the traditions of fa...