Pulitzer Prize History Winner

The Old Northwest, Pioneer Period 1815–1840

by R. Carlyle Buley

Summary

Buley reconstructs daily life in the region that became Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin during the decades of early settlement. Across two volumes he details farming, religion, medicine, schooling, and frontier customs drawn from local sources and pioneer accounts. The work offers a thorough social portrait of how settlers built communities in the developing Middle West.

Historical Context & Significance

Buley, an Indiana University historian, spent years compiling the two volume study from regional records of the early frontier.