The Western Railroads

A study of railroads in America can be said to be a study of the 19th century itself. The railroads carried heavy loads faster, and over longer distances, than any previous means of transportation. As railroads were built across the United States, they opened up wide farming and ranching areas. Cross-country migrations which took 4-6 months by wagon were reduced to trips lasting just four days. Railroads tapped rich forest and mineral resources, and brought better health to people by hauling a greater variety of perishable food than had ever before been available. Railroads connected the West to the East; towns sprang up along the tracks, and cities grew where rail lines met. Cattle were driven to the railheads of Missouri and later Kansas, creating towns in the process. Towns the tracks missed withered and sometimes died. Railroads promoted tourism, and enabled early legislators to justify the creation of the first National Parks. Railroads also had an enormous impact on the arts, in folk songs, storytelling, paintings, and popular culture during the 19th century.

Adapted from an article by Mike Corns

The epic story of the construction of the first railroad to run from coast to coast began in the 1840s, with the acquisition by the United States of vast new western lands as a result of the war with Mexico. But the individual states and regions argued among themselves about which route was the most desirable, causing a deadlock in Congress which lasted throughout the 1850s.

By June 1861, a railroad was a necessity for the over 300,000 inhabitants of California. The moneyed interests of the state decided to act on their own, and formed the Central Pacific Railroad Company in San Francisco. These same interests were able to push through the transcontinental railroad bill in Congress on June 20, 1862. With the Southern states out of the Union, a route along the 42nd parallel was chosen for the railroad, running from Omaha, Nebraska along the Platte River and through Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nevada to San Francisco. The Central Pacific Railroad was chosen as the company to build over the Sierras. Congress gave them 10 to 20 square miles of public land plus up to $48,000 in loans for every mile they completed. Congress incorporated the Union Pacific Railroad Company to build west from Omaha, and gave them a right-of-way of 400 ft. and 20 sections of land (12,800 acres) for each mile of road in existing states, and 40 sections (25,600 acres) for each mile of road in U.S. Territories.

Ground was broken for the Union Pacific at Omaha on December 2, 1863 and the Central Pacific broke ground on January 8, 1863 at Sacramento, California and many long years of work commenced. Finally on May 10, 1869 with the telegrapher's message, "1, 2, 3, Done!" the golden spike had been driven home at Promontory, Utah, completing Americas' first transcontinental railroad, the Union Pacific/Central Pacific.

The first transcontinental railroad was only the beginning, however. Within thirty years the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the Northern Pacific, the Southern Pacific, the Great Northern, and finally the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific railroads had been completed. In addition to the six transcontinentals, scores of regional feeder lines also came into being. Roads such as the Texas Pacific, the Missouri Pacific, the Denver and Rio Grande Western, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific became equally important in opening the American West. A person wishing to relocate to the West need not resign him or herself to leaving family, friends and civilization behind, for the railroads were civilization. It is no wonder that within just a few years the railroads carried as many people to new lives in the west as had taken the Oregon Trail in thirty years. William Tecumseh Sherman said in 1883: "I regard the building of these railroads as the most important event of modern times, and believe that they account fully for the peace and good order which now prevail throughout the country, and for the extraordinary prosperity which now prevails in this land."

The railroads changed the whole complexion of the West. Where once between the Mississippi and the Pacific only a handful of trading posts, mining towns, and forts now existed cities and towns. "The Great American Desert," as the plains of Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas had once been described, now became dotted with farms and ranches. The railroads not only provided the means to get there, but also an easy and affordable way to ship the goods to the market places back east.

For many people the railroads themselves became important employers and economic factors. Many end-of-rail towns, such as Cheyenne, Wyoming, became important rail junctions where locomotives were serviced, cars could be maintained, freight classification yards operated, and crews were changed, and travelers rested and ate. Other places grew from small towns into great cities as a result of the railroads. Denver, for example, had been a mining town and probably would have become a ghost town after the ore had played out if not for the entry of the rails. Soon after the arrival of the railroad, warehouses, stores and factories were built, and Denver became the great city of the Rocky Mountains.

Of course there is another side of the story to the construction of the railroads. American Indians, who contrary to Hollywood's version had looked upon the early wagon trains with more curiosity than maliciousness, now found their entire lifestyle threatened by the "iron horse." Often passengers shot buffalo from moving trains just for sport. The rails scarred Indian hunting grounds. Within a little more than a decade, Indians were relocated on reservations, and their once vast hunting grounds became farms, towns, ranches and cities.

By 1890 the United States Census Bureau determined that there was no longer a western frontier, since all parts of the west had been explored and settled. By 1900 there were 260,000 miles of track in the U.S. Gauges and time zones had been standardized, air brakes and automatic couplers installed, locomotives improved, rails strengthened, and Pullman and dining cars added. Not only were there regular railroad lines, but also interurban transit between cities and trolley lines, elevated railroads and subways within cities. America was a nation on rails everywhere one looked by the end of the 19th century, a century of steam and rails which united West and East more quickly and efficiently than any other single factor.

Rachel Teaches Us to Fight the Odds with Perseverance

“If one wants to improve one’s life, or reach a goal, one must work hard, wait patiently, and never give up” (Calof, 1995). I would say that is a good philosophy for life right? Rachel Calof’s Story is a memoir, written by sixty year old women recalling her early days of homesteading. After reading her book, that is exactly how Rachael lived her life. Today I would like to recognize Rachel Calof, a pioneer homesteader was not rich or famous, but her life story of hardship and perseverance is extraordinary.

By Alycia Fritzen

Southeast Community College

In her book, Rachel Calof’s Story, published in 1995, she tells us the horror that she faced during her homesteading days. Thankfully, with Rachel’s memoir she gave a descriptive look into the pioneer lifestyle. At the age of four her mother died, and from that point on she lived a childhood full of abuse. Her father deserted her and her new family decided rather than take care of her; they shipped her off to America as a mail-order-bride. She would marry Abraham Calof at the young age of eighteen. Rachel left everything she knew and traveled to a homestead in North Dakota.
The early years on the homestead were the most challenging. They lived in one room shanties, with dirt floors. Rachel says, “out of all the privations of I know as a homesteader, the lack of privacy was the hardest to bear” (Calof, 1995). During the winter months, Rachel, Abraham, their growing children, their brother’s family and their parents would pool their resources and live together in their 12x14 shanty. Their livestock lived in the house as well; cows, chickens etc. The hardships Rachel faced didn’t end with a dirty shanty to say the least.

Even though Rachel and Abraham had some agricultural background they suffered great crop devastation from Mother Nature (Calof, 1995). Just as we know today, the weather can change everything in minutes. In her book Rachel remembers a beautiful summer morning. The family had a great crop this year and they were planning on building their home that spring with the harvested money. In the evening a tornado went through ruined everything. The wheat was hammered to the ground; the hail broke out the windows on the house and killed their horse. She remembers just being happy to be alive and they managed to clean up and they did build their house that following spring.

Another hardship Rachel faced was the constant child bearing. Rachel and Abraham had nine children and all of them survived to adulthood. Obviously there wasn’t any kind of pain relief but she didn’t even have a bed. She delivered seven of her children on the on top a pile of hay on the floor. After the deliveries of her children, she was up doing her usual chores within a half an hour. Things like making supper, hauling water from the lake, and caring for the other children (Calof 1995).

In her book she always has a sense of calmness to her that takes her from one challenge to another. A special triumph Rachel accomplished was when she decided nature was to be conquered and civilization needed to put in its place. The people in this room wouldn’t know what it’s like to live according to sunlight. Rachel decided to separate herself from the animals that were forced to rely on daylight. She decided to make lamps out of mud, rag scraps, and butter. She was giggly inside at what she had done. Finally, she could go to sleep when she desired (Calof, 1995).
Rachel might have lived in a shanty, but instead of sulking and complaining she always made the most of it. In her book she tells about caulking all the cracks in the wall with clay. She had the smoothest walls in the state. Abraham and Rachel always hosted all gathering throughout their lives do to Rachel’s hidden talents in homemaking (Calof, 1995). Rachel was an everyday woman that helped to get us where we are today.
So, in the time that I have spent with you, I’ve taken the opportunity to acknowledge that Rachel Calof, a pioneer homesteader, is indeed worthy of our admiration. May 15, 2010, Laureen Riedesel, a historian at the Beatrice public library says, Rachel teaches us to fight the odds with perseverance and hard work. Like I said before Rachel wasn’t rich or famous but it’s the ordinary people that make or break it. Abraham Lincoln might have signed the Homestead Act into effect, but it was the people like Rachel that worked hard to reach ones goal and never gave up.
References:
Calof, R. (1995). Rachel Calof’s story. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
L. Ridesel (personal communication, May15, 2010)

Links of interest:
http://www.nps.gov/home/historyculture/upload/MW,pdf,CalofBio,b.pdf

http://www.storiesuntold.org/women/rachel_calof.html

Tallgrass Prairies

If you had been standing in your very own backyard seven generations ago, your sight would have been quite different from what it is today. You would have seen tall grasses and beautiful wildflowers stretching to the horizon in every direction. “An ocean of grassland” once covered major areas of Nebraska, Kansas, North and South Dakota, and parts of Oklahoma and Texas. Today only 0.2 percent of the native tall grass prairies remain in the area you all grew up (Rice, 2009).

By Tasha Jackson

Southeast Community College

I have spent many hours admiring the astonishing beauty of Mother Nature. The tall grass prairies are one of my favorite things in nature to see. I would like to take the time to tell you about the tall grass prairies including the kinds of flowers and animals that inhabit the tall grass prairie, the problems that affect the prairie, and the restoration efforts that are in place to protect these areas.

I will start out by telling you a little about the flowers and animals that live their lives in the tall grass prairies. We all know what a field of wildflowers looks like, but many of us have never and will never be able to see the astonishing wildflowers that grew in the tall grass prairies that existed long ago. There was a large variety of flowers and grasses that grew in these natural prairies. There was once 720 species of plants growing on the prairies of western Nebraska (Randolph & Shevchuk-Murray, 2007).

Some of the flowers and grasses include bluestem grass, purple Echinacea, and Indian grass (Rice, 2009). Others include soap weed Yucca, Buffalo grass, daisies, milkweed, prairie roses, morning glory, and leadplant just to name a few (Randolph & Shevchuk-Murray, 2007).

According to Ladette Randolph and Nina Shevchuk-Murray in their 2007 book The Big Empty, plants on the tall grass prairie have roots that can reach anywhere from a couple of feet up to 16 or more feet into the ground. The magnificent mixture of perennial species of grasses and flowers made the prairie a successful natural habitat and contributed to the resistance of disease (Rice, 2009). A field of one plant or crop will be easily overcome by disease. If a field has large species diversity, the disease will likely die off because it can only affect one or two plants at a time instead of several thousand plants at once.

There is also a wide variety of animals that call the tall grass prairie home. When the prairies were more plentiful, animals like bison, pronghorn deer, mule deer, elk, and the greater prairie chicken roamed the tall grasses (Randolph & Shevchuk-Murray, 2007). Now that the vast majority of the tall grass prairies are gone these animals have had to adapt to other habitats. Now that you know what lives in the prairie, let me tell you about the problems this area is facing.

There are several threats toward the survival of the tall grass prairie. Every one of us has driven past field after field of corn or some form of cropland as we drive through Nebraska, Kansas, and many other states. Many of the grasslands that were in these areas have been turned into cropland or grazing fields for livestock. Would you be shocked to find out that seventy-five million acres of American land are used to raise grains to feed livestock alone (Rice, 2009)?

According to Stanley Rice in his 2009 book Green Planet, “nearly all of the North American tall grass prairies have been converted to prime agricultural land because of the deep rich soil they have.” The problem with this is that once the tall grass prairies are destroyed by plowing…“they can never come back unless they are deliberately replanted.” 

The tall grass prairies depend on natural cycles of fires to survive. The problem is that people prevent many natural fires from occurring and without these fires the prairies are dying. The grasses are not killed by the fires because they have underground buds that ensure their survival. Natural fires are most beneficial to the tall grass prairies when they occur in the fall and spring because the new grasses have not yet begun to grow. These prairies need the fires to turn the dead stems and leaves into fertilizing ashes so the new grasses can flourish in the rich soil (Rice, 2009).

Now that you know the problems surrounding the survival of the prairies, let me tell you how they are being solved. I would like to let you know what restoration efforts are currently in place to protect this beloved area. We can help with the restoration efforts by participating in the periodic controlled fires that are conducted each year or by helping to replant the tall grass prairie. “In 1965, the Iowa State Preserves System was created.” Since then, more than 63 areas have been created for the restoration of the native prairies (Shirley, 1994).

According to Shirley’s 1994 book Restoring the Tallgrass Prairie there are 240 acres of prairie being protected near Lime Springs in Howard County, Iowa and 60 acres devoted to the National Wildflower Research Center. Another restoration effort was started by the grant of $10 million by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the prairie.

In the spring of 1992 planting began with 4 acres of forbs and 73 acres of big bluestem grass. An additional 400 acres of prairie were planted in the spring of 1993. In 1994, “4,922 acres had been purchased and authorization had been granted to purchase an additional 8,654 acres for the purpose of prairie restoration” (Shirley, 1994). A third restoration effort is called Chicago Wilderness. This is an effort to restore 7,000 acres of prairie landscape in suburban areas around Chicago (Freinkel, 2007).

According to Susan Freinkel in her 2007 book American Chestnut, this group wants to remove trees from local forest preserves to make room for a tall grass prairie reservation area. The danger of losing the diversity of grasses and wildflowers forever was well worth the loss of the few trees it would cost.

I would love to have been alive back in the 1800’s to see the tall grass prairies at their finest hour. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share the beauty of the tall grass prairie.  I have shared with you the kinds of flowers and animals that inhabit the tall grass prairie, the problems that affect the prairie, and the restoration efforts that are in place to protect these areas. I hope that when you drive by field after field of cropland on your way home, you stop to think of the way the land looked thousands of years ago.

References:

Freinkel, S. (2007). American chestnut: The life, death, and rebirth of a perfect tree. Berkeley University Press. Retrieved May 2, 2010 from Netlibrary.

Randolph, L, & Shevchuk-Murray, N. (2007). The big empty: Contemporary Nebraska nonfiction writers. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. Retrieved May 2, 2010 from Netlibrary.

Rice, S. (2009). Green planet: How plants keep the Earth alive. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Retrieved May 2, 2010 from Netlibrary.

Shirley, S. (1994). Restoring the tallgrass prairie: An illustrated manual for Iowa and the upper Midwest. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press. Retrieve May 2, 2010 from Netlibrary.

Homestead Claim: The First in Line on the First Day

The Homestead Act became law on May 26, 1862, but it didn’t become effective until January 1, 1863. Therefore, January 1, 1863 was the first day anyone could apply for a Homestead and a total of 418 persons filed on that first day at 30 different land offices in 11 different states or territories. Listed below are those who were recorded as Entryman No. 1 at the United States Land Offices on January 1, 1863. That is, they were first in line at their land office.

 

Daniel Freeman long after he became one of the first to apply for a Homestead

To learn about the several who claimed to be the VERY FIRST visit Homestead National Monument of America and ask for the “First Homestead” handout or go here to learn how to contact them by phone, fax, or mail. Follow the links to learn about Daniel Freeman and how his Homestead became the site of Homestead National Monument of America.

FIRST ENTRYMEN

The entries below all bore No. 1 in each of the Land Offices names. There were no time stamps or notations on any entry. Hours of operation were not given by the offices. On January 1, 1863, Nebraska was a territory and what is now North and South Dakota were simply “Dakota Territory.” The other states listed had been granted statehood prior to January 1, 1863.

State    Land Office	Name
California         Stockton Visalia	Henry Ketterman Wm. B. Hector
Iowa Council Bluffs Des Moines Fort Dodge	Henry Stump Orin Holdbrook Henry H. Patterson
Kansas Humboldt Junction City	Melkes J. Martin  Robert L. Titua
Michigan East Saginaw Ionia                Traverse City	Paul W. Williams Wm. B. Smith John W. VanNostrand
Minnesota Minneapolis     Winnebago City Taylor’s Falls   Henderson       St. Cloud          Duluth	Samuel Taylor Samuel A. Poll  Stillman Gee Frederick Teubert James Tanner Seargale Wakelin
Nebraska Brownville       Nebraska City  Omaha             Dakota City	Daniel Freeman William Young Adam Smith John Smith
Ohio           Chillicothe	Samuel Harger
Oregon             Oregon City Roseburg	Everand Sharrock James Appleton
South Dakota   Vermillion	Mahlon Gore
Washington    Olympia	Michael Houliken
Wisconsin        Eau Claire        Falls St. Croix La Crosse Menosha Stevens Point	Edward Torsgaad James Logan John Henry Uringer Richard L. Degroff Dennis Manning

The Story of the Homestead Commemorative Stamp

Fred Hultstrand History in Pictures Collection, NDIRS-NDSU, Fargo.

John and Marget Bakken would have been lost to history if it were not for a picture taken in 1898. It shows the couple outside their sod house in Walsh County, North Dakota, with their two young children and the family dog.

John Bakken was born in Benson, Minnesota, in 1871. His parents were from Telemarken. After a sojourn in Minnesota, they moved their large family to homestead in North Dakota in 1881. There John married Marget Axvig, who also came from a big Norwegian family. She was born in Telemarken in 1867.

The photographer was John McCarthy. He later sold his business to Fred Hultstrand including the original plate of the Bakken picture. Hulstrand’s assistants, the Wick sisters Thelma and Sylvia, colorized a print with oil paints.

The colorized photograph then made its way into a book called “The Pageant of America,” a 15-volume series commemorating the nation’s sesquicentennial in 1926. Charles R. Chickering, an artist for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, discovered the photograph in the book and based on this image designed the 1962 Homestead Act centennial stamp but with a few changes.

Chickering made some subtle changes in the composition but the most noticeable change is the removal of the two children, Tilda and Eddie, and the dog. This was allegedly done, according to Tom Isern, a history professor at North Dakota State University, to avoid depicting living persons. However, John Bakken, still living in North Dakota, recognized himself and his old soddie.

The Homestead Act stamp was given a general coloring of bluish-gray to represent a late evening and emphasize the bleakness of the plains, according to a 1962 broadside advertising its release. The 4-cent Homestead Act commemorative stamp was issued in Beatrice, Nebraska, on May 20, 1962, on the centennial anniversary of the signing of the act by President Abraham Lincoln.

The image was again used in 1975 by Norway to commemorate immigration to America but this time it is red. This artist’s adaptation of the same photo restores the children. “Indeed, the postures of John and Marget make the children central to this postal image—rightly so, given the attitudes of immigrant settler,” said Isern.

Fred Hultstrand History in Pictures Collection, NDIRS-NDSU, Fargo.

A copy of the original photograph, the Homestead Act stamp and the Norwegian stamp can be viewed at the American Memory website of the Library of Congress as part of the Fred Hulstrand collection.

Sources:

Isern, T. (2003, April 10). Plains folk: Bakken Homestead. North Dakota State University -- NDSU Agriculture Communication.Retrieved July 5, 2009, from: http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/newsrelease/2003/041003/04plains.htm

Sunwall, C. (2008, August 8). Homestead Act stamp. Dakota Datebook. North Dakota Public Radio. Retrieved July 5, 2009, from: http://archive.prairiepublic.org/programs/datebook/bydate/08/0508/052008.jsp

Photographs retrieved July 5, 2009, from American Memory Home Web site: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?ngp:106:./temp/~ammem_0z8m

The 4-cent Homestead Act commemorative stamp was issued in Beatrice, Nebraska, on May 20, 1962, on the centennial anniversary of the signing of the act by President Abraham Lincoln.

Fred Hultstrand History in Pictures Collection, NDIRS-NDSU, Fargo.

Designed by Charles R. Chickering, the stamp features an image of a sod hut, typical of the early homestead dwellings. A man and woman stand in the illuminated walkway. The stamp's bluish-gray color represents a late evening scene and emphasizes the austerity of the plains.