The Church on the Changing Frontier

g It

n "chaps" and a sombrero are rare, unless worn by a "Dude" from the East. The last 100 years have seen a remarkable growth and change in this countr

of the Ho

the Homesteader came. "And always, just back of the frontier," says Emerson Hough in "The Passing of the Frontier," "advancing, receding, crossing it this way and that, succeeding and failing, hoping and des

ey never stayed long enough anywhere to succeed. But they prove up on their claims and then go elsewhere, drifting still. Others leave, holding their land as an investment, because they have not found the land or the circumstances up to their expectations. T

sas speaks in itself of a small world conquered. Of course, there are farm-houses in the valleys. But sheer grit is all that achieves a house and a barn and a wind-shield of trees out on the mesa. Lumber is expensive and must be hauled f

NG HER

ucceeded in cultivating an attractive garden

elp th

e Government to form and follow any better colonization policy for its unoccupied lands than its "Homestead laws." The western farmer has never been cherished by his Government as has bee

g a start is over. But the last few years have been hard for every farmer and rancher on the Range, old settler and new alike. No part of the country can afford t

NITY RE

the only gathering place

on account of the nature of the soil, it will be many years before the Range becomes a second Middle West, if ever. The land will not support as many people per square mile. Much of the area will remain, for

to be generally used by the farmers as a means of transportation, the trade centers along the railroads, especially the county seats, have increased greatly in size and importance. This growth of the centers is characteristic of the whole United States. Until after 1820 les

e of the

pendent upon them. As one farmer in Union County said, "There is no permanent prosperity except that based on the farmer. If our town is big and top-heavy and the farmers are taxed heavily to keep the town up, it is killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. The 1,000 farmers tributary to Clayto

ized Scho

ct boards. This system equalizes burdens and advantages, minimizes dissension, and conduces to economy and efficiency. The average school board has no standards by which to judge an applicant for teaching. One disadvantage of the district system is that so often daughters are put in as teachers. The

al N

ore solitary affair for women than for men. The men drive to town, but the women stay home week in and week out with few diversions. A postmistress in Montana told about two women living on large cattle ranches about six miles apart, a small distance in that countr

LL THE CA

Range is a long way from the Sands o' Dee, and "

t of th

pectability but of decency and order in the midst of a rough and turbulent population. They were the representatives of social neighborliness and all the higher interests of the commun

AT THE

County which draws its con

States, while the western area has only 30 per cent. of the total population. In 1850, it had only 8.6 per cent. of the population. The average density per square mile in the Unite

. Of course, a homesteader is absorbed by his place. Unless he is simply proving up on his claim for the purpose of selling it, he must be absorbed if he is to succeed. He broke with most of his home ties before he came and, after arriving, has not had time to go adventuring for any but those simple things which he must have

NG TH

find a church welc

ve trained lay leaders only to have them leave "en masse." Out of the fourteen churches which ha

irit has in it the freedom of the West, the perfect democracy of the cowboy, and is essentially

Frontier

ddle-aged. It has been a church with haphazard leadership. It is a church of past achievements and of unlimited fut

the largest number of churches have been established in such centers. But these churches have not reached the great unevangelized areas aro

four services a month. The Sunday schools are not well organized. With the start the Sunday schools now have, possibilities are unlimited if they can be conducted on a more business-like basis. Yet these young people and children are the great hope of the church. No more wide-awake, vigorous young peo

o do little with a large area. There has been some unnecessary over-lapping of work. With their large fields, the ministers cannot be expected to do more than they are doing at present which is, in most churches, occasional preaching. A missionary pastor said, concerning one of his charges in a n

ican Mission in Clayton, has been given up. In Sheridan County there is great need of a comprehensive program that shall include all six mines. There should be at least two community houses built with organized social activities and evening classes; the staff to in

MILY M

County doctor in front of it.

rontier Ch

nd soul, in place of the old circuit-rider system, is the program of the Congregational Demonstration Parish in Plateau Valley, Colorado. Six thousand feet up on the western slope of the Rockies, this valley is shut in on three sides by rugged, white-capped mountains. It is thirty miles long, from one to six miles wide, and contains about 150 square miles of territory. This is a

seemed to have been lost or never acquired, possibly because religious privileges had been meager and not altogether suited to the peculiar needs of the people and the country. It is doubtful if 250 people living in the va

ch school, the Christian Endeavor, and the work with men and young people in Collbran village. He also does visiting throughout the valley. The Director of Extension Wor

gymnasium will have a floor space seventy-five by forty feet and a gallery; it will also serve as an auditorium, while a stage, dressing-rooms and a moving-picture booth form part of the equipment. The basement will have billiard room, bowling a

2. The pastor and extension man have office hours in the morning. In the afternoon, the women's rest room, with its easy chair, lounge and cribs for babies, and the men's club are open. The billiard and reading rooms are open from one to five-thirty and the library is open from three-thirty to five. This library already has 1,200 books, and there are shelves for

o promote inter-neighborhood "mixing" in competitive and other ways. The Extension Director is organizer, social engineer and community builder. He has a regular circuit of preaching appointments and Sunday schools. His program includes a one-hour visit to four schools every week.

des practically all the young people of the intermediate age. The Scouts and Camp Fire organizations are very active and recently held a dual meet with the Mesa organizations. Wrestling, basket-ball, hog-tying a

and has become part of the larger parish. This church and community will unite with the Congregational church on a common budget for the support of general work. There is now Methodist Episcopal work in the extreme end of the valley, Baptist in the

the Church alone; doctors, visiting nurse, school teachers, county agent and farm bureau will gradually be called into a co?perative team play. This, then, is the Church not merely aspiring to leadership, but utilizing its opportunity with a real program. Asking no favors be

ger Par

means of transportation and an equipment suited to a religio-social program. The minister is no less a preacher and man of God because he

, it has equipment which provides for ideal worship, a modern church school and well-supervised social and recreational activities. It amounts to a church that offers advantages like those of the Y. M. C

COMMUNI

ing their own community house under the leadership of

illages or towns into which no minister or church visitor goes from one year's end to another. Within reach of almost any church on the Range, and over great stretches of country, children may be found who are growing up without any religious trainin

AT SERVES T

and parsonage at

ere may be some justice in the excuse that "the farmer and his family might easily come in to services in their automobile," but it is true that a "house-going ministe

ontan

denominations. For this new and progressive policy the people of the State were themselves responsible, and its development will be watched with intense interest. Unfortunately one of the fields in the only Montana county in this survey is not

r is a problem for the individual church and community. The latter is a problem demanding the co?peration of all religious forces on the field, for "there is religious need enough to tax the best en

he social and economic life of these "centers" naturally overshadows a great portion of the county areas, yet the churches minister very inadequately to their needs. The church parishes on the map represent few members. The centers are growing, the

all Sunday school work and help to organize new schools in Union and possibly in Sheridan County. Some additional churches should be established; others m

ion the

munity good, as in the case of Rotary and Civic Clubs. The churches might well emulate this example in organization. There are competent Ministerial Unions in Pierre and Sheridan City. What is needed now is a Council of Religion in each county with a program enlisting every minister and every church, and including every square mile of occupied land in the county. All problems are related. The causes

tier of

quickly passing out of the rough-and-ready period of our national life, in which we have dealt wholesale with men and things, into a period of more intensive development in which we must seek to find the special qualities of

is willing, at need, to change its ways. The social baggage of the eastern states is only partly unpacked in this regio

he work of the Farm Bureau. A new social spirit is developing. The Church has counted for a great deal on the Range and has done some good, fundamental work. But in order to keep abreast of the new development and to help

END

LOGY AND D

TA

END

gy and De

ement and of the Committee on Social and Religious Surveys differs from the

places of over 5,000. Previous surveys usually excluded all places of 2,500 p

disadvantage of the community unit is that census and other statistical data are seldom available on that basis, thus increasing both the labor involved and the possibility of error. The great advantage is that

he residences of its members and adherents was mapped and s

involved in the actual f

ined by noting the location of the last family on each road leading out from a given center who regularly traded at that center. These points, i

ocial and institutional life of

on of its parish area, and the detailed study of its equipmen

eatures, the boundaries of each community, the location, parish area and

initions used in the making of these sur

raph

. Not included within the scope of the

a population of f

ith a population o

people not living on farms w

ng area, excluding ham

ion included in scope of survey into Town, Villa

overed by these surveys, i.e., al

changeably with

the majority of whose interests have a common center." Usually ascertained by determining the normal trade area of each given center. The primary so

n area between two or more centers, and somewhat influenced by each, but whose interests are s

sts in common, but dependent for certain elemental needs upon som

ny industry other than farming w

ula

eign-born and native-bo

ign or mixed parentage, but sometimes refers only to more recent im

Ch

the members and regular atten

ches combined under the

ister lives within its parish area

o serves no other church, and follows no other occupation th

ch also, or devotes part of his time to some regular occupation oth

far away to permit regular attendance; generally, any member living outside

ish area of the church, but who neither attend

en church after the number of non-resident and inactive

total amount contributed or expended, divid

ring the year as a basis for a canvass of its membership for funds, is said to operate on a budget system with respect to its local finances. If amounts to

dequate financial system: a budget system, an annual every-member can

have been divided

is monies received in p

ey received from free will

, chiefly proceeds of entertain

ries paid is misleading. In all salary comparisons, therefore, the cash value of a free parsonage is arbitrarily stated as $250 a year, and that amount is added to

END

bl

E COUNTIES ACCORDING TO THE FE

Hughes Sh

0 1910 1920 1

,480 3,020,160 485,760 485,760 1,64

461,315 284,907 165,069 625,

270,603 275,530 144,237 62,53

) 7,142 3,088 7,032 2,52

res) 359,264 182,697 133,638 100,0

in farms 17.6 15.3 58.7

improved 42.5 59.7 50.6

992.1 860.7 784.9 440.2

er farm 421.5 514.0 397.3

st ten years, while the improved acreage per farm has decreased. In Hughes and Union, however

ANGE COUNTIES ACCORDING TO THE F

wners Beaverhead Hu

0 1910 1920 1

59 456 245 308 73

ms 87.1 85.1 67.5 82

324,248 151,684 124,686 455,

) 214,638 194,592 69,052 45,6

53,847 6,021,007 6,291,101 3,136,356 10

entire farm 506 439 165

ng additional land 53

Nativity

ites 385 305 187 22

orn whites 174 151

n-whites 0 0

erated b

s 46 55 112 63

rms 7.2 10.3 30.9 1

89 43,196 117,163 34,283 8

s) 18,536 25,565 65,200 16,1

1,410,170 1,056,695 3,459,605 933,68

Nativity

whites 37 38 396

-born whites 9 15

n-whites 0 2

erated b

rms 37 25 6

067 93,871 16,060 6,100 84

res) 37,429 55,373 9,985 7

) 2,900,920 1,520,630 352,500 103,56

wnership is high. But because of absentee ownership, land companies oper

I

PS IN THE RANGE COUNTIES ACCORDING

Hughes Sh

10 1920 1910 19

4,352 292 20

2,891 3,684 2,91

,499 3,761 11,466

5 1,560 131 8

962 96 93

and

ops 36,243 26,996 4,667 82

ial

408 219 272 2

ables 9 87 25 1

rs Dollars Dollars Do

29,830 $1,141,939 $ 225,315 $1,655

539,471 78,654 335,719

80,093 505,323 103,592 1,036

2 49,673 15,336 109,670

,176 71,379 29,162 174,7

Sheridan; in Union cereal crops; in Hughes, both in nearly e

RANGE COUNTIES ACCORDING TO THE

ughes Sherid

n: 1920 1910 1920 1910 19

46 2,502 2,615 9,007 7,916

0-1920 27.6% -4.3%

01 3,209 3,656 9,175

e 1910-1920 -

6 5,711 6,271 18,182 16,324

0-1920 14.3% -8.9%

population

.8 1.4 3.3 3.4

[9] 1.4 7.5 8.3 7

493 1,301 1,419 4,169 3,3

61 1,387 1,492 4,492 3,18

ON OF THE RANGE COUNTIES ACCOR

ughes Sherid

ber Rank Number

on 7,369 5,711

otal 6,261 5,15

ge 4,454 3,752

ntage 1,024

tage 783 62

, Total 1,035

9 7 15 9

0 1 49 2

kia 11 14 4

21 2 42 3

8 5 38 4

23 11 3

12 6 10

7 3 118 1

14 4 11

16 1 14 10

06 4 22 6

9 3 12

ia 27 10

0 0 192

9 49 2 3

17 2 13 2

13 20 7

3 9 3 12 1

6 37 5 1

d 43 8 18

0 0

15 3 1

countries

n white 7

THE RANGE COUNTIES ACCORDING

Hughes Sh

ber

Numb

Numb

Numb

e

57 ... 847 ... 2,

sive 850 ... 790 ..

89 92.8 714 90.4 2

213 ... 201 ..

195 91.5 191 95

206 ... 216 ..

137 66.5 153 70.8

lusive 302 ... 306

68 22.5 82 26.8

Beyond that age the ratio of attendance falls off rapidly, Sheridan and

I

COUNTIES ACCORDING TO TH

Hughes Sh

and Over

Numb

Numb

Numb

e

4,520 ... 14,3

9 1.0 20 1.4

3 ... 3,982 ... 11

13 .3 2 .1 3

es 1,023 ... 460

9 2.8 9 2. 39

. 23 ... 13

3 ... 1 ..

ears In

522 ... 1,35

2 .4 1 .2

y 21 Year

4 8 .5 276

11 ... ... ...

ites 18 ... 5 .

... ... 3

.8 11 .7 14

1 ... 1 ...

ites 10 ... 4 .

. ... ...

gher in Sheridan and Union t

I

NT CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS

UGHES SHERID

l Nu

es Num

e Num

ned Nu

e Total

es Num

e Num

ned Nu

e Total

es Num

e Num

ned Nu

e Total

es Num

e Num

ned Nu

e Total

es Num

e Num

ned Nu

ac

of orga

1 .. .. .. .. .. ..

7 1 .. 3 2 1 .. 1

. 1 1 .. .. 5 5 .. .

1 1 .. .. 7 4 1 2

5 5 .. .. 6 6 .. ..

15 1 .. 21 17 2 2 4

re now either abandoned or inactive. Population has shifted; co

X

F CHURCHES AMO

rch

ountry Village

North 0

South 3

ist or Christ

st (Unprogress

tional 3

Associatio

her

heran of Amer

n 0 0

sh 0

h 0 1

s 0 1

, North 1

t, South

ne 1 0

n in U. S.

Episcopal

y Adventis

rethren

34 14

X

verhead Hughes Sh

orth 1 1

South

ist or Christ

st (Unprogress

tional 0

Associatio

her

eran of Americ

n 0 0

sh 0

h 0 0

s 0 1

North 2 6

t South

nes 0

n in U. S.

Episcopal

y Adventis

rethren

7 15 1

uare mile of inhabited area ought to be reached. But larg

-

Y OF CHURCH MEMBERS B

rch

llage Town

bers 616 497 1

bers 129 66

members 152 6

nt 897 623 1,5

ongregation 2

-

COU

rch

ughes Sherid

bers 345 884 1

bers 96 74 6

members 94 10

nt 535 1,066 3

ongregation 7

an "unattached Christian" a

I

ACCORDING TO SIZE BY

llage Town

with a

ersh

ess 26

50 7 4

100 1

150 0

50 0 0

34 14

I

COU

ughes Sherid

with a

ersh

ess 3 7

50 1 2

100 2

150 1

50 0 2

7 15 1

with denominational competition has result

I

WN DURING A ONE-YEAR PERI

un

hes V

ches

ches

ches

ber

Numbe

Numbe

Numbe

Numbe

e

5 7 50 10 7

9 27 6 43 1

38 1 7 2 1

14 100 13 100

ership increases with t

I

HES ORGANIZED TEN YEARS OR M

r N

un

ches

ll

hes T

o

ches

i

ches

66 1,197 1

78 1,385 2

71 1,575 2

es Increased 41% Town and

I

X OF RESID

Cou

Hughes Sh

21 24% 31

r 21 55%

boys under 2

girls under 21

s and girls. They need better recrea

RAISIN

erhead B

riday D

VILLAGE CO

UN

D A B C D A

f church

0 0 5 0 2[11] 3 0 1

es only 0 0 1 0 1 3 0 1

ass 0 0 6 0 3[11] 5 0 2

r canvass 0 0 6 0 3[11] 5 0

ber canvass 0 0 3 0 0 0 0

es 0 0 9 0 4 6 0 3 2 5

urches are using modern met

V

NS OF CHU

es Loc

LAGE COUNTRY

mb

rs Pe

l Nu

rs Pe

l Nu

rs Pe

l Nu

rs Pe

l Nu

rs Pe

o

ver

armers 6

armers 28 2

ren

lab

ssional 51 48.6 2

0 19.1 3 60

cupations 105 100

gh

mers 6 2.8

ers 8 3.8 34 5

s 12 20.7 1

lab

fessional 114 5

39.9 5 8.6 1

cupations 213 100

rid

armers 16

mers 49 7.2 4

rs 8 12 15

borers

essional 179 26.

62.4 49 100 1

upations 683 100 49

io

d farm

s 13 16.4 41 622

ters 3 5

orers 3

sional 36 45.6 11

0 38 14 212

cupations 79 100 6

age of farmers on its rolls than of men in other occupations. Yet

II

F MONEY RAIS

by the local churc

ce

ion $70,9

ons 9,46

ethods 17,1

,57

II

by the local chur

ce

s $41,2

benevolences

other expense

pent for church pur

ce

$54,356.2

benevolences

other expense

, about 12 per cent. comes

V

TS PER

llage Town

Thir

hes F

hes T

ches

es Six

ur

5 $526.51 $1,972.93

99 106.57 254.3

12.96 297.42 458

0.50 $2,685.29 $5

I

PER ACT

llage Town

Thir

hes F

hes T

ches

es Six

ur

2.39 $14.07 $21

3.05 2.85 2.

hods .68 7.95

$24.87 $29.63

ber is generous in the

TURES P

llage Town

Thirt

hes F

hes T

ches

es Six

ur

$366.43 $1,247.31

ences 42.59 117.85 6

expenses 40.95 441.63

5.91 $2,680.37 $4

X

ES PER ACT

llage Town

Thirt

hes F

hes T

ches

es Six

ur

59 $9.79 $13.

evolences 2.24 3

er expenses 2.16 1

$24.74 $29.57

II

IS RAISED AND SPENT

llage Town

Thir

hes F

hes T

ches

es Six

ur

$.77 $.57 $

s .19 .11

thods .04 .3

$1.00 $1.0

II

llage Town

Thirt

hes F

hes T

ches

es Six

ur

2 $.39 $.4

nevolences .14

ther expenses .1

$1.00 $1.0

hes devote one-fourth of th

X

ION FIELDS-PRESBYTERI

mising

ct of sel

c service o

lematic

of communit

nal responsibi

to be rel

be self-

ould be di

st to apply to every ai

X

F CHURCH

of Se

th Co

hes V

ches

ches

ches

3[13] 12

0 0

0 0

0 0

6[13]

0 0

9 3

2 0 0

r service

summer onl

34 14

s and Sunday school means six days a year; only twent

X

MPARED WITH SEATING CAPAC

Hughes Sh

ng capacity 1

ve membershi

ance at servic

ird less than the seating ca

X

HE CHURCHES OTHER

i

Young People Boys G

er Members Number Members Number M

ches

171 0 0 10 2

9 166 0 0 3

10 0 0 9 314 3

635 2 40 6 200

,682 2 40 28 834

only one-eighth as many. Less than half of th

X

VED THE CHURCHES WHICH HAVE BE

n

tor

ors

ors

ors

tor

ors

ors

ors

st

ches

1 1 2 2

1 1 1 2

1 3 4 2

2 1 2 2

5 7 10 7

n high. Two-thirds of these churches have had a ne

VI

TORS IN RELATION

llage Town

ches

nt in parish

community but not

ther community in sa

t in another c

r pastor

pastor

34 14

s have their ministers re

X

ORDING TO PROPORTION OF T

ters

Tim

ry Min

h o

upa

th

With Mo

Ch

receiv

$2,00

-$2,00

-$1,50

-$1,20

$1,000

-$ 75

-$ 50

or les

lary

l 18

mily life on many of these salaries. It is not strange that eight of

X

AS RELATED TO RESIDENCE OF

Country Village

nister 8 8[

aining 4

ationary

losing

t minister

aining 5

ationary

losing

es with non-resident ministers only about one-third show a gain. Fourteen churches were either pa

DIES OF RU

NTRY SERIES

R THE DIR

eS. Brun

stant Churches

ral America-T

Intensive C

on Public

nity Survey of Salem

Survey of Pend Oreille

ity Survey of Sedgwic

the Old and New

nt on the Land, as seen in

h Life in the M

Church in Coloni

n, a study of two prospero

on the Changing

d After the War, Comparative St

Church in Indus

ntry Church in the Un

e need to have done on a large scale." Dr. Charles A

lts." Rev. Charles S. Macfarland, Genl. Secy., Fed

ORGE H. DORAN C

O

SOCIAL AND RE

H AVENUE

tno

nal Characteristics," H

cajawea was erected

ring the year and one city church, which tith

e Tabl

y churches ha

e churches ha

and girls' organizations cannot be added

n the Table indicate the respective coun

t reserve territory. The following figures were obtained by excluding

er square mile

er square mile

velopment of center

ican separately. They are of course native

increase is 20.7 in

ase " 4.1 " H

se " 12.1 " Sh

32.2 " Uni

" are in the mines; in the othe

ches have a single budg

sed by local churches. The rest ca

e groups unites regularly with

k day services. One church has its four service

his group has two re

rental value of pars

his group has two re