Homes in the Heartland: Balloon Frame Farmhouses of the Upper Midwest, 1850-1920

Homes in the Heartland offers a captivating explanation of the revolutionary balloon frame house construction that swept across Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin from 1850 to 1920, enabling the settlers of the upper Midwest to establish frontier homes. Fred W. Peterson leads readers through the technical aspects of farmhouse construction and discusses the social, economic, and aesthetic values of these familiar homes.