Farming & Ranching in the Late 1800’s

Ranching on the Open Range The open range was a vast area of undeveloped land owned by the state government for future sale The land intermingled so ranchers determined the owner of an animal by it brand Most ranchers had little interest in controlling the riverbanks & waterholes; they viewed grasslands as a resource for all to share

Changes on the Open Range The expansion of railroads was a key factor in the end of the open ranges Railroads received almost 90% of internal improvement land Texas created the State Land Board to sell land to poor settlers to encourage more public land sales near railroads By the late 1800’s, most farmers were buying cheap land from the railroad companies

The End of the Open Range Open range provided enough public land for cattle owners to graze their herds Barbed wire was important to the end of the open range & cattle drives. As more land became private, cattle owners bought land & fenced it in to build ranches. Cattle drives ended & cowboys lost their jobs The Big Die-Up of helped put an end to cattle drives. Many states began creating quarantine laws to keep TX cattle from going through their states on cattle drives Ranchers developed new, stronger breeds. They took better care of their animals. This was the beginning of modern ranching.

The Impact of Railroads in Texas in the late 1800’s Cattle industry: brought end to cattle drives; brought meatpacking industries to Texas Farming: Moved more farmers to commercial farming; brought farming to West Texas Economy: Helped create jobs & more demand for farm-grown foods

Think about it…. What 3 reasons brought cattle drives to an end? Why did ranchers brand cattle? Who sold farmers land in the late 1800’s?

From Family Farms to Commercial Farming Texas needed settlers so newspapers advertised in the South to invite new settlers State & railroad co. offered land at low prices so Texas’s population rose in the 1800’s Railroads allowed a way for crops to get to faraway places so many farmers turned from subsistence farming to growing cotton Many farmers could not afford to buy their own land so they became tenant farmers Why Cotton: it was in high demand & it grew well in dry climates

Tenant Farmers Rented land from large landowners Many tenants were African American Landowners supplied seed, tools, & supplies Tenant farmers went into debt By 1900, half the farmers in Texas were tenant farmers

Cycle of Debt Had to buy food from merchants or landowners because they always planted cotton If the family didn’t have money they would buy it on credit To buy on credit the merchant would charge interest (additional money to be paid by the borrower) Drought, flood, price of cotton affected how much the farmer would receive at harvest Many times the farmer would owe more than they received for their share of the crop and would be in debt before the new season began

Explain it… If you are in the front row turn to your neighbor behind you… you have 2 minutes to explain to them how the cycle of debt kept tenant farmers in debt… Now let your neighbor explain it to you!

Hardships for Farmers West Texas: Railroad companies lured settlers to places unsuitable for farming- a stream of immigrants poured into the area West Texas vs. East Texas – West Texas saw much less rainfall then East Texas- The drier climate made farming in West Texas more difficult then in East Texas

Crops in Texas The most important crop in Texas was cotton- by 1880, Texas produced more cotton than any other state Cotton seeds had been a problem for decades- For every 3 lbs of cotton, 2 lbs were seeds Cotton bolls were used for textiles, seeds were used to make oil The 2 nd most important crop was corn- by 1900, Texas had about 5 million acres of corn planted; used as food & to feed livestock Texas was: the country’s 4 th leading producer of hogs 2 nd leading producer of wool Top producer of mohair (a fine wool)