The letters of a homesteader couple describe the epic experience of the first white settlers on the Plains. (8.5 mins)

With the coming of the railroad, the settlement of the Great Plains began - a process believed by many to be the 'manifest destiny' of the American people, and facilitated by the promise of free land. But first, the homesteaders had to tame a forbidding landscape, and this was no easy task. The module follows the story of Uriah and Mattie Oblinger, whose letters, written in 1872-3, describe the creation of their 'sodhouse', a house made from the only material available: the matted roots of the prairie grass itself.

Written and directed by Andrew Chater.
Originally commissioned and broadcast by the BBC.
Copyright Andrew Chater / Lodestar Productions / Timelines.tv, streamed with the BBC's consent.

Watch the full American West resource in an interactive timeline at www.timelines.tv