Farming On the plains

The Smith homestead  built in the 1860’s.

Introduction

Barbed Wire was introduced in 1860 and created tensions with farmers and ranchers. Ranchers were scared that the farmers were going to fence in the water supplies. Ranchers started to fence in the range including government land. The U.S. government decided that the Ranchers couldn't fence in the land. This created an opportunity for farmers to come and establish their claims.