Settling the Plains - Farming

● Plains were the last region to be settled, why?

○ Difficult to get to - Few navigable rivers outside
of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers
○ The Great American Desert - Low rainfall,
few trees
○ Harsh winters, hot and humid summers
○ Prairie sod was difficult to till
● What changed? - In short technology
● Settling the Plains - Difficult to get to
● The Transcontinental railroad changed this
○ 7,000 new towns sprung up
■ There would be a town every 10-20 miles along the track to act as a water
station and/or a rail depot
○ Railroads advertised and recruited people by selling them the left over federal
land
○ As new rail lines were created it brought more people into the area
○ Large numbers of Germans and Scandinavians came
● Homestead Act also helped bring people in by giving them land
● The Dawes Act unfortunately also helped by freeing up former reservation land that
could now be sold.
 Oklahoma Land Rush (April 22nd, 1889)
● March 3rd: President Benjamin Harrison announces 1.9 Million acres in Oklahoma
would be opened up to settlement.
○ These acres were never assigned to any tribe
■ In following land rushes the land that was opened up came from surplus
land following the Dawes Act
● What: Noon on April 22nd, People (Nicknamed the 89ers) lined up around all sides
of the land. A cannon shot signaled the start. From then anyone could claim a town
lot or a quarter acre of farm land for free
○ Towns like Guthrie, Norma, and Oklahoma City sprang up overnight
● Sooners: These were the people who entered the land early to make a claim
○ Cases against suspected Sooners clogged the courts for years after
● The next land run was done with more control and then replaced by a lottery
● The land rush led to Oklahoma statehood and a drastic reduction of Indian territory
○ Though a recent legal decision has suggested the Cherokee still own most of
Oklahoma
The movie Far and Away
involves the Oklahoma land
rush
● Settling the Plains - The Great American Desert - Low rainfall, few trees
● People overcame the lack of trees by using other materials
○ Sod (dirt blocks) was used to build houses (Just like in Minecraft)
○ Barbed Wire caused farming to explode - Cheap fencing that uses little wood
● Windmills were used to pump water
○ Steady water source for livestock and irrigation
○ The Great Plains sit on a massive underground aquifer - Ogallala Aquifer
● Dry Farming (techniques for growing crops with less water) appeared to work in the
1870’s and 1880’s but starting in 1889 a massive drought hit the plains and showed
there will always be risks
■ Prior to 1889 the belief was “Rain followed the plow”
○ Farmers have learned to adapt and overcome
● Drought still is a constant worry up until today
● Harsh Winters and Hot Summers - Not much they could do but learn to cope.
○ There have been some bad winters that have really hurt farmers on the plains
○ 1888 Schoolhouse Blizzard Started Jan 6th it set in so rapidly that many were
caught unaware including children in school houses
■ Temperatures dropped from 20 above to -20 in a matter of hours
■ 235 died
○ 1888 and 1889 Saw summers with temperatures in 100’s combined with heavy
drought and then winters where temperatures would reach down to -20
■ Livestock froze to death
■ A lot of farmers were ruined during these 2 years
● Settling the Plains - Prairie Sod was difficult to break up
● John Deere and the steel plow
○ Cast iron plows that were used in the east could not break through the thick
grass and tough sod
● There would be other farming innovations that would make farming easier on the
plains
○ Cyrus McCormick and the mechanical reaper to cut down grain
○ Steam powered thresher that was run by burning straw to save on wood
○ Pony drills to plant seeds uniformly to increase yields
○ And so on.
● All of this would transform society. Food became for abundant and cheaper, people
would eventually work fewer hours and entertainment demand began
 Open Range Ranching and Cattle Drives
● Open Range Ranching: Cattle would graze on open public land. This limits the
strain grazing puts on any one area
○ How did they know whose cows they were? Cattles were branded with an
identifying brand
○ After grazing for a summer the cattle would be rounded up and a cattle drive
would take them to market to be sold
● Why? : After the Civil War there was a huge demand for beef in the east
○ Texans used to drive their cattle to New Orleans
○ With the new railroad it was easier and faster to drive them to cow towns in
Kansas.
■ They would then go to by rail to the
Slaughterhouses in chicago
● What does a cattle drive consist of?
○ Trail Boss: The man in charge (Led the way)
○ 12-15 Cowboys or trail hands
■ Each Cowboy needed 3-5 horses
○ Horse Wrangler: Usually a young cowboy. He was responsible for the remuda
(spare horses)
○ A cook who drove the chuck wagon - The cook was the most respected
member. Not just for food, but he also took care of medical supplies and
usually had some basic first aid training.
■ You did not want a bad camp cook
○ 1,500 to 2,500 Head of cattle was typical
○ The distanced varied by the trail.
The Chisholm trail Was about 530 miles long
● A good day they traveled 12-15 miles.
● At the end of the drive is when the cowboys got paid
○ Between $30-$40 a month
● The previous page shows the 4 most known trails. Of the 4 the Chisholm trail was
the most used.
○ Initially the Shawnee trail was used.
■ It was stopped because farmers and ranchers in Missouri and eastern
Kansas did not want Texas cattle in their area.
● A tick carried Texas Fever - Harmless to Texas cattle, fatal to others
○ With Shawnee closed Joseph McCoy built market facilities at Abilene and soon
the town became the first of the “Cow Towns”
■ Dodge City, KS, Cheyenne, WY, Miles City, MT all became famous cattle
towns
■ These towns were very rough. Cowboys wanted whiskey and women after
months on the trail.
● While the towns were rough it was mainly fist fights, you did not see
“high noon duels” like in the movies. Many towns had gun laws where
guns needed to be turned in to the sheriff and could be retrieved when
you left
● Who were cowboys?
○ If you believe Hollywood this is a cowboy
● In reality cowboys were more likely to be like this

● Up to 33% of cowboys were

mexican Vaqueros and about
25% of cowboys were african
● What ended Open Range Ranching?
○ Barbed Wire - This invention by Joseph Glidden allowed the plains to be fenced
off cheaply
○ Range Wars - With the farmers expanding into the plains they often fought with
open range cattle operations. Cattle would trample crops and farmers would
fence off range land to farm it
○ The winters of 1887-1889: They were extremely cold and almost destroyed the
cattle industry in Montana. Many herds froze to death
○ Railroads expanded: There was no need to drive cattle long distances as the
railroads expanded their coverage areas
● The era of the open range lasted roughly 30 years but has continued to be a major
part of the American identity