James Riley
Banned
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2015
- Messages
- 1,821
Idle curiosity for anyone who knows. Sorry if this is the wrong forum to ask this, or if it's all moot, but I'm curious if anyone here could educate me. 
I understand Texas is different but when it comes to states like Colorado and Wyoming and Montana, I've always wondered how some ranches got so big.
First, I know there were homestead acts where each family member, ranch hands and whatnot would all file, prove up and then "sell" to the one guy who was really behind it all, but there is no way there was enough people to make up some of the contiguous acreage (tens or hundreds of square miles) we see on some ranches today.
Second, even if they were put together by arm's length purchases from independent sellers, it's hard to believe so many people filed contiguous to each other. I figure most were on good flat bottoms so how did all the high and dry get wrapped into it.
Third, I know the railroads were given a checker board and maybe they sold to other private folks like ranchers but again, how did the checkerboard get filled in?
Fourth, "if" the railroads were give contiguous sections, weren't those timbered for ties? If so, again, how did all the non-timbered range land end up in those big ranches?
Fifth, I suppose State land grant or school sections could have been transferred, traded, sold, consolidated, auctioned or whatever. Is that what happened?
I really don't know and there might be a good legal explanation and I'd really love if someone could enlighten me on how it all got put together. However, as a suspicious (paranoid?) lay person, it smells funny. Like, in the late 1800s/early 1900s there was some shenanigans with State and/or Federal Senators/Representatives/governors/bankers/barons etc.which allowed large tracts of public land to somehow end up in private ownership and I've wondered if it was all legal and stand up, even at the time.
I understand Texas is different but when it comes to states like Colorado and Wyoming and Montana, I've always wondered how some ranches got so big.
First, I know there were homestead acts where each family member, ranch hands and whatnot would all file, prove up and then "sell" to the one guy who was really behind it all, but there is no way there was enough people to make up some of the contiguous acreage (tens or hundreds of square miles) we see on some ranches today.
Second, even if they were put together by arm's length purchases from independent sellers, it's hard to believe so many people filed contiguous to each other. I figure most were on good flat bottoms so how did all the high and dry get wrapped into it.
Third, I know the railroads were given a checker board and maybe they sold to other private folks like ranchers but again, how did the checkerboard get filled in?
Fourth, "if" the railroads were give contiguous sections, weren't those timbered for ties? If so, again, how did all the non-timbered range land end up in those big ranches?
Fifth, I suppose State land grant or school sections could have been transferred, traded, sold, consolidated, auctioned or whatever. Is that what happened?
I really don't know and there might be a good legal explanation and I'd really love if someone could enlighten me on how it all got put together. However, as a suspicious (paranoid?) lay person, it smells funny. Like, in the late 1800s/early 1900s there was some shenanigans with State and/or Federal Senators/Representatives/governors/bankers/barons etc.which allowed large tracts of public land to somehow end up in private ownership and I've wondered if it was all legal and stand up, even at the time.
