The Year: 1883.
The Place: The Montana Territory.
The Challenge: Blizzards, hunger, scorching sun, forest fires, the neighbors and more…

Three modern families experienced life on the American Frontier. If you think you know everything that happened… You don’t. These families traveled back in time to the days of the Wild West, living as settlers did in on the frontier back in the 1880s. No one could pretend it was be easy, but their story gave us a vivid picture of how far we have come, maybe even a little of what we have lost along the way. In a beautiful valley in a remote corner of Montana, each of our selected families took over their own 160-acre plot of homestead land. Through late spring, summer, and early fall of 2001, we observed their complete immersion into the lifestyle—how they fared with building their home, tending their livestock, planting food, catching fish in the creek—all without the assistance of modern technology. Their triumphs and frustrations provide a unique account of one of the most important, and often romanticized, periods in American history.