Phillips County Museum News for June 5, 2019

The First State Banks Car Show this weekend brought to mind another “car” that I had read about. It was called the “Zone of Plenty Car”. It was a Great Northern Railroad car that carried grains, grasses, fruits, and vegetables from the states of Washington, Oregon, and Montana.

Traveling east in 1913 it was an educational feature that was used to entice farmers and families to come to the Northwest. Farmers would drive for miles to see these products and be lured by the promise of free government land. To families who rented and never would have the money to purchase the land they rented the car represented a chance of paradise.

Even schoolteachers were lured to the railroad car – using the chance to educate students about other parts of the country. If I asked you to guess who was behind the “Zone of Plenty” I bet most of you would guess Louis Hill and you would be right. Mr. Hill was quite clever and of course not having Facebook opportunities the man had to be creative! Phillips County Museum hours are Monday through Saturday 10-5.