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In 1935, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration created an experimental farming community known as the Matanuska Valley Colony as part of the New Deal resettlement plan. Situated in the Matanuska Valley, about 45 miles northeast of Anchorage, Alaska, the colony was settled by 203 families from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The colony project cost about $5,000,000 and, after five years, over half of the original colonists had left the valley. By 1965, only 20 of the first families were still farming the valley. ==Origins== The Matanuska Colony was part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal plan to help move the United States out of the Great Depression. It was one of many rural rehabilitation colonies to be established by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Others included Cherry Lake Farms in Florida, Dyess Colony in Arkansas, and the Pine Mountain Valley Rural Community in Georgia.〔 In 1935, Americans in rural areas of northern states were among the worst sufferers of the Great Depression. In order to alleviate some of the pressures upon these areas, the FERA commissioned applicants from the northern states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan to colonize a tract of land in the Territory of Alaska. The administration chose these three northern states because of their climate and belief that representatives would be well suited to survive harsh elements of subarctic winters. The hope was that the colony candidates would be good farmers with the necessary skills and hardiness required for self-sufficiency in the harsh Alaskan environment. Each family was to receive a 40 acre plot to turn into farmland.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.litsite.org/index.cfm?section=Digital-Archives&page=Industry&cat=Agriculture&viewpost=2&ContentId=2752 )〕 From conception to realization, the project progressed rapidly. A survey was made of the Matanuska Valley in June 1934 to ascertain its agricultural viability. Some of the information that would have proven to be useful in planning the colony was not even available until after colonization had begun. Nonetheless, the following January, FERA and Department of the Interior agreed to undertake the project. A few weeks later, 80,000 acres of land was set aside for the project and, by April, the first construction workers and colonists left for the valley.〔 According to historian Orlando W. Miller, a total of 241,332 acres were initially set aside for the colony, with an additional 7,780 acres added later on to provide more continuity between the farms. After all, it was supposed to be a colony with startup assistance from the government. In effect, they wanted to keep the farms together in a single area as opposed to being spread out across the vast region reserved by President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 6957 of 4 February 1935. The social workers in charge of selecting colonists were limited in their options. On one hand, they aimed to recruit hardy self-sufficient farmers that were true pioneers. On the other hand, they were trying to get people off of federal aid. They were to choose on the basis of need. In effect, successful farmers were best off staying put, while the less successful farmers were the ones available to colonize the Matanuska valley. The recruitment also suffered from the enthusiasm of the candidates: they might have presented themselves as being a bit more capable than they actually were. The results revealed themselves early in the colony. Many left, many struggled, and many apparently did very little. The chosen colonists often were fairly skilled and self-sufficient, but they lacked specialized farming skills and industriousness. Most were not up for the challenge. Merely 31% of the original colonists remained in 1948. However, some of these colonists did not abandon Alaska for good. Rather, they made a living fishing, mining, trading, or doing construction for the military after the war started. The gap left by the ones who left was compensated for by recruiting more colonists and consolidating parcels. In addition to the colonists not being as good of farmers as was hoped, the land was worse than expected. The Matanuska valley was not the picturesque valley that ‘valley’ brings to mind. At one time, the valley was filled with a big glacier. This glacier left its mark upon the land. It left areas covered with coarse gravel and rock outcroppings. The terrain can be unlevel with features non-conducive to efficient farming. Some of the parcels had to be doubled in size because of the sparsity of arable land within them. Prices for land ranged from $5 per acre, for uncleared land, to an undetermined amount in some areas where it had been enhanced. Settlers agreed to a 30-year payment schedule with an annual interest rate of 3%. The federal government built houses and barns as well as paid for the transportation of the families and some of their goods to Alaska. Equipment, livestock, farm machinery and other supplies were supplied by the corporation for purchase, lease, or payment for use. Supplies were available for purchase at cost until settlers were self-supporting. There were no permanent structures in the valley by the time the first settlers arrived. A tent city was erected while the valley was cleared of thick woods. Within weeks of the arrival in Alaska, there was a measles epidemic that spread throughout the colony. At that time, there were no permanent houses or hospitals. Though only a few settlers died, the event was disheartening and foreshadowed the difficulties of living in a remote area. There was a high failure rate due to the short growing seasons, steep freight prices, and distant markets. These harsh conditions took their toll on the settlers. By 1940, over half of the population had left the valley. In 1965, there were only 20 families left.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Matanuska Valley Colony」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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