Chapter 13 Settling the West Section 2 Farming the Plains

Geography of the Plains Region extends westward to the Rocky Mountains from the central Dakotas through western Texas Rainfall – average is less than 20 inches per year.

Geography of the Plains Huge herds of buffalo once grazed on the prairie grasses of the Great Plains

Geography of the Plains Stephen Long explored the Plains with an army expedition in 1819. Called it the “Great American Desert”. Said it was unfit for farming.

Beginnings of Settlement Railroads provided easy access to the plains. RR companies sold land along the lines at low prices and provided credit. Homestead Act – (1862) – For $10, a settler could file for homestead, tract of public land. Homesteader got up to 160 acres and could receive title of it after living there for 5 years.

The Wheat Belt Inventions and new farming methods made the Plains profitable. Dry farming – planting seeds deep in the ground where there was enough moisture for them to grow. By the 1860s, farmers used steel plows, seed drills, reapers, and threshing machines.

Steel Plow

Reaper

The Wheat Belt Farmers who plowed the soil on the Plains were called sodbusters. Many lost their farms due to drought, wind, and overuse. Wheat withstood drought better than any other crop.

The Wheat Belt *don’t write* Began at the eastern edge of the Plains and included much of the Dakotas and western parts of Nebraska and Kansas.

Bonanza Farms Much larger than single-family farms and covered up to 50,000 acres.

Closing the Frontier April 22, 1889 – government opened for settlement the land that later became Oklahoma. Within hours 10,000 people raced to stake claims in the Oklahoma Land Rush. 1890 – Census Bureau reported that the frontier was closing.

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