Open range
The term "open range" refers to public lands in certain U.S. states, including Texas, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota, where cattle could freely graze without fences. This practice gained prominence from about 1866 to 1890, aligning with a booming cattle industry that arose due to high beef prices in the North following the Civil War. Ranchers, particularly from Texas, capitalized on the economic disparity, driving millions of cattle northward to meet demand. The open range initially supported large herds due to the abundant buffalo grass, which demonstrated the land's capacity for grazing.
However, this system faced challenges as the overgrazing led to a decline in available grass, and conflicts arose between ranchers and farmers. The introduction of barbed wire in 1874 allowed farmers to protect their lands, further restricting cattle movement. Additionally, the Homestead Act encouraged settlement, reducing public domain land for grazing. By the late 1880s, a combination of monopolization in the cattle industry and a devastating winter resulted in significant cattle losses, marking the decline of the open-range system. Despite its end, the cultural legacy of the open range, with its iconic cowboys and ranching lifestyle, continues to influence American media and folklore.
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Open range
The open range refers to the areas of public domain in Texas, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Land in the public domain is free for anyone to use. From about 1866 to 1890, more than five million cattle were driven from western Texas north to the Great Plains, where they were sold. While Texans had an overabundance of cattle, beef prices in the North were high, so the open-range cattle industry was extremely profitable. It was short-lived, however. Large sections of the land comprising the open range were given to homesteaders to encourage settling, and the area became unable to support such large cattle herds.
Brief History
The open-range cattle industry began near the end of the Civil War in 1865. Massive herds of bison roamed the Great Plains, showing Americans that the plains' grasses had the capacity to support a huge number of animals. In records from as early as 1865, ranchers discussed how well their cattle survived through the winter on a diet of nothing but buffalo grass and foraging.
It did not take long for people to realize that there was money to be made in driving and selling cattle in the open range. During the Civil War, many Texans went off to fight. Their cattle roamed free and herds grew to unprecedented sizes. Unfortunately for Texan ranchers, such an abundance of cattle caused the price of beef to plummet—but the situation was different farther north. The Union Army had depleted the local supply of cattle to feed its troops, which caused the price of beef to skyrocket. In some cases, the cost of a head of cattle was ten times higher in the North than in the South. These economic conditions motivated southern ranchers to sell their herds in the North.
The first recorded rancher to organize a long cattle drive was M.H. Brown. In 1868, Brown drove more than eight hundred cattle from Texas to Nebraska and sold them along the way. The following year, he increased the size of his herd to more than seventeen hundred. When this cattle drive was again successful, Brown made a third trip with more than twenty-five hundred cattle. Other ranchers saw Brown's success and began to replicate his cattle drives. By the summer of 1870, more than thirty thousand cattle were being driven from Texas to Nebraska in a single year.
Soon, word spread of the open-range cattle industry. England invested money in the enterprise. This investment attracted the attention of American businesspeople, who opened large cattle companies. The US government was even in on the action. It banned fencing in the open range to make the cattle drives easier. It also awarded beef contracts to cattle companies. The government distributed the beef it purchased to Native Americans on reservations, who were left without food when the buffalo herds were destroyed.
The open-range cattle industry gave many small towns an economic boost. The constant stream of cowboys and ranch hands through the towns bolstered the profits of inns, taverns, and other recreational businesses. Cowboys were paid well and were willing to spend their money on entertainment after long drives.
The End of the Open Range
The open-range cattle industry did not last long for several reasons. For starters, the large cattle herds overgrazed the plains. So many animals in one place made it difficult for new grass to grow. Other native animals, such as bison, had to compete with the cattle herds for food. The grass was in such demand that it did not have a chance to grow back.
The invention of barbed wire in 1874 also helped end the open range. Farmers became tired of their property being damaged by cattle. They frequently fought with ranchers over the rights to land and water. The installation of barbed-wire fencing made it difficult to drive herds through an area and significantly limited the number of places for herds to graze.
The US government passed the Homestead Act in 1863. Under this law, any men or women who were twenty-one years old or the head of a family could have 160 acres of land in the West if they lived on it for five years and built a home. While the law helped many Americans, it hurt the open-range cattle industry because it drastically reduced the amount of public-domain land.
The cattle industry also began to monopolize. By 1885, thirty-five cattle barons had control of most of the market and owned most of the cattle. These cattle barons had the money to ship beef via refrigerated cars on trains.
The blizzards during an unusually cold winter in 1886–1887 killed hundreds of thousands of cattle and an untold number of cowboys. The cold came early, with snow beginning in November. It killed the grass used to feed the cattle, causing 60 to 95 percent of major ranches' stock to starve. This winter officially ended the open-range cattle industry.
However, the cultural hallmarks of the time of the open range—cowboys, ranch hands, and the Wild West—persisted into modern times. Western novels, television shows, movies, and fiction tropes remain an important media genre.
Bibliography
Clark, Laura. "The 1887 Blizzard that Changed the American Frontier Forever." Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian, 9 Jan. 2015, smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1887-blizzard-changed-american-frontier-forever-1-180953852/?no-ist. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.
Combs, H. Jason. "The Early Open-Range Cattle Ranching Industry in Nebraska: America's Greatest Farmer Plays a Role." Project Muse, 2023, doi: 10.1353/gpq.2023.a897848. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.
"The Ways of the Cowboy." U.S. History, Independence Hall Association, 2016, ushistory.org/us/41b.asp. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.
Western, Samuel. "The Wyoming Cattle Boom, 1868-1886." WyoHistory.org, The Wyoming Historical Society, wyohistory.org/essays/wyoming-cattle-boom. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.