The Plow That Broke the Plains

"The film presents the social and economic history of the Great Plains -- from the time of the settlement of the prairies, through the World War I boom, to the years of depression and drought. The first part of the film shows cattle as they grazed on grasslands, and homesteaders who hurried onto the plains and grew large wheat crops. The second part depicts the postwar decline of the wheat market, which resulted in overproduction. Footage shows farm equipment used, then abandoned. The third part shows a dust storm as it rendered a farm useless. Subsequent scenes show farmers as they left their homes and headed west. Department of Agriculture. Farm Security Administration. Information Division."

Brindle

Caption: "Spring 1916, Florence Mabel and their cow "Brindle" near Tucumcari, New Mexico

©2007 QRAI

Windmill (and cows)

"Windmill Surguy Ranch" circa 1910. The writing on the tank reads: "Made by J T Morris Tucumcari NM"

Pig Pen Scenery

With the advent of roll film, photography became affordable to the masses. No longer did one have to hire a professional to have a picture made, though the pro's still made a better photograph. People took to casual photography with enthusiasm, snapping images of everything in sight. They were so casual about it that a strange thing happened, they began to smile for the camera. The dour poses of old were forgotten; one could always take a serious picture later on. This explosion in image making has been a boon for historians and the such, who now have millions of pictures from the last hundred years to mull over. Even from the picture above we can learn that, A. Small Southwestern framers raised pigs, and B. Yes, pioneers did smile - at least occasionally.

Photo: "Pig Pen Scenery" Quay County, New Mexico ca. 1913.

Vacations for all

Going through these old photographs, I'm often struck by what a time of transition the turn of the twentieth century seemed to be for homesteaders. A person may be slopping the pigs in the morning and on vacation in the afternoon. Granted, there was much more hog tending than pleasure trips, but the evidence in these and other pictures seems to point to the fact that 20th century concepts like tourism and consumerism (for the masses), came very rapidly - even to the Southern Great Plains.

Photo: Seven Falls, Colorado 1913

Federal Land Patents

If you have relatives or ancestors who were homesteaders, or perhaps you live on land that was once under the Homestead Act, you can get free copies of the original land patents from the U.S. Government. Just go to the The Official Federal Land Records Site and click on "Search Land Patents" at the bottom of the page. If your search is successful, you will be presented with the basic patent info and several choices of downloadable images of the document, or for the very reasonable price of $2.00, you can even have a "Certified Copy" of the original patent mailed to you. There is also a good FAQ that can answer anything I haven't already mentioned.

Little houses

I think sometimes people subconsciously substitute the word "cute" for the word "little"; as in "Cute House on the Prairie." Well those houses were cute sometimes, and small most of the time, very small. At the time, nine people lived in the house pictured above.

Quay County, New Mexico ca. 1910

Rain on demand

What would all those old dry-farmers have thought of this? {I think they'd of liked it very much.}



Quay County, New Mexico (both pictures).