River, Reaper, Rail: Agriculture and Identity in Ohio’s Mad River Valley, 1795–1885 By Timothy H. H. Thoresen

Abstract

Timothy Thoreson’s study of settler society in Ohio’s Mad River Valley is a straightforward account of those who made a living on the land and developed the towns, businesses, and industries in the region. An anthropologist and historian, Thoreson describes the changes that Euro-Americans wrought on the land between the 1790s and the 1880s, focusing on adaptation in farming techniques and access to markets via rivers, canals, and railroads. Readers learn about the farming practices settlers brought to what became Champaign County, and how farmers sought new productive techniques, tools, and transportation infrastructure to ensure easy market access.