From which states did the new Alaska farming families come?

• A. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan
• B. Alaska, Washington, Oregon
• C. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
• D. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

Answer: (C)

In the 1930s a federal colonization effort aimed to boost Alaska’s agriculture by bringing farming families from the Midwest to the Matanuska Valley near Palmer. These families came from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, chosen for their farming experience and readiness to adapt to Alaska’s short growing season and cold climate. The program, part of New Deal relief and development, relocated over 200 families, giving them land, equipment, and support to start farms and establish a new rural community in Alaska. The other regions listed in the options are not the source of these specific colonists; the Midwest states provided the new farming families that helped seed agricultural life in that part of Alaska.