Dakota Willows: A Story of Volga Deutsch Immigration

Through a series of fortuitous acquisitions, John Schmidt, a Volga Deutsch immigrant, finds himself master of an 11,000-acre bonanza farm. His pathway to becoming one of Cass County's largest wheat producers has taken him through the rigors of farming the northern prairie, the edge of financial ruin and, ultimately, to the doorstep of untold riches brought by the Second Dakota Boom and Agricultural Revolution.
The family's journey begins in 1763 when their forebears escape war-ravaged, feuda...