Farming, Mining, and Ranching
Angela Brown
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Early-Model-John-Deere-Tractor-Posters_i145594_.htm
Bellringer: Discuss the gold rush
and how the discovery of precious metals would change the West.
Objectives: List the changes that
transformed farming on the great plains.
Explain the changing mining industry in the west.
Describe the growth and decline of the cattle industry.
Farming Dry Farming-
planting crops that do not require a great deal of water and keeping fields free of weeds
http://www.solpass.org/7ss/Images/steelplow2.jpg
Improvements in farm implements multipliedPlow that made several furrowsHarrows with spring teethAutomatic drills to spread grainSteam-powered threshers 1875Cornhuskers/cornbinders 1890
http://www.rotaryfirst100.org/districts/images/5370.h6.gif
Federal Department of Agriculture 1862
1880-1890s gathered statistics
Then spread information on new techniques
http://www.spain-lanzarote.com/media/lanzarote-pictures/06-PIC00001.jpg
Bonanza Farms farms controlled by large businesses and
managed by professionals applied same organizational ideas as in
industry sometimes oversupplies equaled dip in
market Debt was a constant worry for farmers
due to machinery and land speculation.http://www.mnstate.edu/heritage/BaggFarm/HistoryBonanza.jpg
Mining Place mining –
(panning) – shoveled loose dirt into boxes, ran water over it, causing heavy minerals to sink to the bottom
http://www.boulderpatchmines.com/aboutus_images/elis_placer.jpg
All loose minerals were gone by the early 1860s
The rest lay locked in quartz deeply buried
Rough mining towns soon became ghost towns leaving only the shop keepers better off
Mining then became the realm of big business
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~gtusa/photos/co/st-elmo-01.jpg
RanchingLearned cattle ranching ways of
MexicansEnd of Civil War, cattle $3 to $5 a
head in Texas brought $30 to $50 a head in the meat markets of Chicago and St. Louis
First drove Northward through open range
http://www.earthandskyphoto.com/images/storm_on_the_open_range_web.JPG
“Cow Towns” Abilene, Kansas
1867 by J.G. McCoy
(towns built specially for shipping cattle)
Also Cheyenne, Wyoming; Dodge City and Ellsworth, Kansas
http://www.flahum.org/images/sections/publications/forum/issues/winter_2006_cowmen_herd.jpg
Long Drive – transporting cattle from ranges to cow towns – 18 hours a day in the saddle, thieves, stampedes
http://icons.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/m/myrtlebeach/100.jpg
End of the Open Range The cattle boom ended in 1880s Joseph Glidden’s 1874 invention of
barbed wireOverstocked the marketsOvergrazed, damaged prairie grass
http://www.brandonstone.com/photos_generated/barbed_wire_fence-750x600.jpg
Winters of 1885-1887 (85% cattle froze/starve) individuals and large companies went out of business
Cattle continued on a smaller scaleNew breeds replaced Texas
Longhorns
http://www.costumenetwork.com/albums/album77/longhorn.sized.jpg
Textbook Resources:1. Read Mining Wealth on page 170 in your text and answer
the Thinking Critically questions. Why do you think towns developed in mining regions? How did the discovery of natural resources contribute to
the settlement of the West?2. Study the map of Economic Development of the West on
page 173 in your text and answer the map skills questions. Locate Promontory, Helena, Montana & Chisholm Trail Explain how the location of these cities enabled them to
become centers of economic activity: Denver, Virginia City, Abilene & Omaha
How did the railroads contribute to the growth and prosperity of the West?
Exit Slip: