Plain View Farm – Established in 1910

The year was 1910. Carl and Anna Bergstedt had begun their journeys in Sweden. Like so many immigrants of their time, they moved from place to place before settling and establishing their legacy on a homestead eight miles northwest of Savage, Montana. Carl arrived via stage coach and Anna and their two children arrived shortly afterwards. With no doctors in the area, Anna returned to Minnesota to give birth to their third child in 1910. Carl purchased three beautiful Percheron horses, farm machinery, and seed corn which he accompanied on an immigrant train car to what was then Dawson County.   Carl was among the first in the area to grow corn.

The Homestead:

The homestead was later named Plain View Farm and recorded in the county records for its endless views of prairie land. For miles, rolling hills rumbled down the plains disappearing from sight only when the rugged badlands across the Yellowstone River came into view. Alone and standing proudly stood a single-room, white farmhouse. During the winter, the house braced itself against wind and ice as coyotes howled into the frigid night air.

Farming Changes:

Throughout the past century, farming has changed. In the early years, horses provided transportation and farm and ranch labor. It was exhausting and backbreaking work. Yet, friends and neighbors pitched in to share the load and provide companionship from the solitary life. Throughout the decades, barns, shops, grain bins, corrals, and modern homes have sprung up to replace that solitary one-room home. Modern machinery has replaced real horse power. Red Angus cattle now share the pasture land with coyotes, fox, and deer. New techniques in farming and crop rotation have increased the ability to add crops such as safflower, lentils, and peas to the small grains which have always been raised. And yet, so much has remained unchanged. The view from the front window of the farmhouse is largely untouched after 100 years. The farm is still dependent on hard work, commitment, sunshine, and rainfall for success. To date, five generations of the Bergstedt family have called Plain View Farm home. The labor has passed from Carl and Anna, to their son Landin and his wife Marian, then to Clifford and his wife Linda. Currently, Kelly and his wife Suzie have become the fourth generation to operate the farm and ranch. For over 100 years, the Bergstedt family has experienced joys & hardships, blessings & trials. Linda Bergstedt writes, "We've developed a love of the land we call home and are thankful to what God has provided throughout the last century."