Farm in a Day

After Minidoka closed in October 1945, the land was lotteried for returning, white, World War II veterans through the Homestead Act. Each recipient received a portion of the land to be used for agricultural purposes, and a couple of buildings from the camp. John Herrmann received an allotment, the plot of land that the National Park Service now maintains for educational and interpretive use. Herrmann, through the Homestead Act, had a deadline for developing the land into a farm. However, he was recalled for the Korean War in the 1950’s, delaying his opportunity to establish the farm. A federal agency approached Hermann and asked if he would participate in the “Farm In a Day” project where the veterans who just were awarded farmland would learn how to start a farm and build a house, showing off new state of the art farming equipment. John Herrmann agreed, and the event gathered around 1,500 volunteers and around 10,000 spectators, completing the goal of creating a farm and building a house in a single day.