Cutover Collection

Possibly: Ex-lumber mill worker clears eight-acre field after... Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
[Untitled, possibly related to: Ex-lumber mill worker clears eight-acre field after bulldozer has pulled stumps. Boundary stumps. Boundary County, Idaho]

Ex-lumber mill worker clears eight-acre field after bulldozer... Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Ex-lumber mill worker clears eight-acre field after bulldozer has pulled stumps. Boundary stumps. Boundary County, Idaho

Cedar stump in field which family is clearing by means of FSA loan, Boundary County, Idaho, 1939
Cedar stump in field which family is clearing by means of FSA (Farm Security Administration) loan. Boundary County, Idaho

Priest River Valley, where many settlers grow hay between the stumps, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939
Priest River Valley, where many settlers grow hay between the stumps. Bonner County, Idaho

Looking down the Priest River Valley... Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Looking down the Priest River Valley in which many new settlers are trying to establish farms. Bonner County, Idaho

Ex-lumber mill worker clears eight-acre field after... Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Ex-lumber mill worker clears eight-acre field after bulldozer has pulled stumps. Boundary stumps. Boundary County, Idaho

Cedar stump pile which is being burned off in field, Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Cedar stump pile which is being burned off in field. Family is clearing this land by means of FSA (Farm Security Administration) loan. Boundary County, Idaho

Possibly: Shows stump on cut-over farm after blasting, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
[Untitled, possibly related to: Shows stump on cut-over farm after blasting. Bonner County, Idaho]

Stump farmer prepares to blow out tamarack stump, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Stump farmer prepares to blow out tamarack stump. Shown tamping in dynamite in prepared hole. Bonner County, Idaho

Shows stump on cut-over farm after blasting, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Shows stump on cut-over farm after blasting. Bonner County, Idaho

Possibly: Stump rancher and wife, Priest River Penninsula, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
[Untitled, possibly related to: Stump rancher and wife. They and their seven children are making a new start on cut-over land. Priest River Penninsula, Bonner County, Idaho]

Stump rancher and wife, Priest River Penninsula, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Stump rancher and wife. They and their seven children are making a new start on cut-over land. Priest River Penninsula, Bonner County, Idaho

Possibly: New settler shows fish he caught... Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
[Untitled, possibly related to: New settler shows fish he caught this morning. He " likes it fine here." Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho]

Possibly: Farmer from Nebraska now developing eighty-acre stump farm, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939
[Untitled, possibly related to: Farmer from Nebraska now developing eighty-acre stump farm. Bonner County, Idaho]

Was Nebraska farmer, now developing land in cut-over area, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Was Nebraska farmer, now developing land in cut-over area. Bonner County, Idaho

Fenced pasture on cut-over farm, Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Fenced pasture on cut-over farm. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho

Farm family in the cut-over land, Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Farm family in the cut-over land. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho. The Halley family, FSA (Farm Security Administration) borrowers

Possibly: Improved water tank on stump ranch, Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
[Untitled, possibly related to: Improved water tank on stump ranch. Boundary County, Idaho]

Roadside at crossroads, Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Roadside at crossroads. Boundary County, Idaho

Horses pasturing among stumps and snags, Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Horses pasturing among stumps and snags. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho

Type barn, characteristic of Idaho, on farm of older settler, Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Type barn, characteristic of Idaho, on farm of older settler. Boundary County, Idaho

Crossroads off the highway in cut-over area, Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Crossroads off the highway in cut-over area. Boundary County, Idaho

New home, new fence, newly cleared land of farme... Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho
New home, new fence, newly cleared land of farmer starting up on cut-over land. FSA (Farm Security Administration) borrower. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho

Abandoned church in cut-over area, Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Abandoned church in cut-over area. Boundary County, Idaho. Two miles south of Canadian line

Corner of one-room cabin belonging to farmer... Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939
Corner of one-room cabin belonging to farmer starting in cut-over area. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho

Farmer starting out on cut-over land building... Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939
Farmer starting out on cut-over land building an addition to his one-room cabin. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho

Farmer starting out on cut-over land... Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Farmer starting out on cut-over land building an addition to his one-room cabin. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho

Burned out in Montana... Priest River country, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Burned out in Montana, this farmer is making a new start on cut-over land. Priest River country. Bonner County, Idaho

Possibly: View of the Halley farm. Priest River Peninsula, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
[Untitled, possibly related to: View of the Halley farm. Priest River Peninsula. Bonner County, Idaho]

Possibly: Corner of one-room cabin belonging to farmer... Priest River Valley, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
[Untitled, possibly related to: Corner of one-room cabin belonging to farmer starting in cut-over area. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho]

Part of eighty-acre farm showing cleared pasture land and uncleared piece, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939
Part of eighty-acre farm showing cleared pasture land and uncleared piece. Bonner County, Idaho

Farmer preparing to blow tamarack stump, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Farmer preparing to blow tamarack stump. It will take fourteen sticks of dynamite. Bonner County, Idaho

Tomarack stump is blasted, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Tomarack stump is blasted. Bonner County, Idaho

Ex-Nebraska farmer and the piece of land which he hopes... Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Ex-Nebraska farmer and the piece of land which he hopes to clear next year. Bonner County, Idaho

Shows character of cut-over area, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Shows character of cut-over area. Bonner County, Idaho

Ex-Nebraska farmer and the piece of land which he hopes to clear... Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Ex-Nebraska farmer and the piece of land which he hopes to clear next year. Bonner County, Idaho

Cut-over landscape, approaching winter rain, showing settler s... Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Cut-over landscape, approaching winter rain, showing settlers shack on poor sandy soil. Boundary County, Idaho

New settler shows fish he caught... Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
New settler shows fish he caught this morning. He " likes it fine here." Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho

Sign on back road in cut-over area, Boundary County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Sign on back road in cut-over area. Boundary County, Idaho

Fencing on new farms in cut-over area, Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Fencing on new farms in cut-over area. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho

Possibly: Farm family in the cut-over land, Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
[Untitled, possibly related to: Farm family in the cut-over land. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho. The Halley family, FSA (Farm Security Administration) borrowers]

Possibly: Fenced pasture on cut-over farm, Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
[Untitled, possibly related to: Fenced pasture on cut-over farm. Priest River Valley, Bonner County, Idaho]

Possibly: Another cut-over farm located across the road from... Michigan Hill, Washington, 1939
[Untitled, possibly related to: Another cut-over farm located across the road from Kytta place. Note land planted in strawberries. Western Washington, Thurston County, Michigan Hill

Another cut-over farm located across the road from Kytta place, Michigan Hill, Washington, 1939
Another cut-over farm located across the road from Kytta place. Note land planted in strawberries. Western Washington, Thurston County, Michigan Hill. See general caption number 36

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In the rugged landscapes of Boundary County, Idaho in 1939, a determined ex-lumber mill worker takes on the daunting task of clearing an eight-acre field. With a bulldozer by his side, he battles against nature's remnants - cedar stumps that stand as stubborn reminders of past glory. This resilient family relies on a loan from the FSA to aid them in their arduous journey towards reclaiming their land. Across Bonner County, settlers face similar challenges as they strive to grow hay amidst the sea of stumps that dominate Priest River Valley. Undeterred by these obstacles, they persevere and find solace in the fertile soil hidden beneath this cut-over land. Dorothea Lange captures these scenes with her lens, immortalizing moments that depict both struggle and determination. The photographs reveal cedar stump piles being burned off, testaments to the tireless efforts made by those who refuse to surrender to nature's grip. Blasting becomes another method employed by farmers in Bonner County; explosions echo through the valley as stumps are shattered into fragments. A stoic stump farmer prepares himself for yet another tamarack stump removal - a battle between man and nature where victory is hard-won but deeply satisfying. Amidst this challenging landscape stands a couple - proud owners of a stump ranch on Priest River Peninsula. They epitomize resilience and adaptability as they carve out their livelihood from this unforgiving terrain. These captivating images captured by Dorothea Lange transport us back to an era when cutover lands were transformed into thriving farms through sheer grit and determination. They serve as reminders of human perseverance against all odds and pay homage to those who turned barren fields into flourishing homesteads.