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

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 FarmersRented 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

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 FarmersWest 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 2nd 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 4th leading producer of hogs

2nd leading producer of wool

Top producer of mohair (a fine wool)