MINING CAMPS AND CATTLE TOWNS MINING CAMPS AND CATTLE TOWNS WEST NATURAL RESOURCES BUSINESS/COMMERCE ENVIRONMENT GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MINING CAMPS THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH OF 1849 BEGAN A PROCESS OF ESTABLISHING COMMUNITIES THAT WAS REPEATED THROUGHOUT THE WEST WHEN A VALUABLE ORE SUCH AS GOLD SILVER OR COPPER WAS DISCOVERED MINING CAMPS WERE HASTILY ESTABLISHED NEAR THE DISCOVERY SITE AT FIRST THE CAMPS WERE LITTLE MORE THAN CLUSTERS OF TENTS AND CRUDE SHACKS POPULATED ALMOST ENTIRELY BY MEN MINERS COMPETED AGGRESSIVELY TO STAKE OUT THE BEST CLAIMS AND CASH IN ON DREAMS OF FABULOUS WEALTH MINING CAMPS GREW AT AN AMAZING PACE ATTRACTING PROSPECTORS FROM ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND MOST OF THE WORLD TO TOWNS LIKE LEADVILLE COLORADO AND NEVADA CITY CALIFORNIA ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS TOWNS VIRGINIA CITY NEVADA CAME INTO EXISTENCE IN 1859 DURING THE BOOM CREATED BY THE DISCOVERY OF THE COMSTOCK LODE LIKE MOST MINING TOWNS VIRGINIA CITY GREW RAPIDLY BY 1861 IT HAD A POPULATION OF OVER 3000 AND BY THE 1870S IT HAD TOPPED 30000 FIERCE COMPETITION FOR WEALTH COMBINED WITH A LACK OF LOCAL AUTHORITY GAVE MINING CAMPS A WILD AND SOMETIMES VIOLENT CHARACTER COMPETITION OFTEN LED TO CONFLICT BETWEEN MINERS PARTICULARLY IN PLACES WHERE GREED AND ETHNIC PREJUDICE COMBINED SALOONS AND STORES WERE QUICKLY ESTABLISHED AND THE OWNERS OF SUCH ESTABLISHMENTS WERE MORE LIKELY TO GET RICH THAN THE MINERS THEY SERVED GAMBLERS AND SWINDLERS PROSPERED BY RELIEVING THE MINERS OF THEIR NEWFOUND WEALTH WHILE CLAIM JUMPERS TOOK ANOTHER MORE DIRECT METHOD OF ENRICHING THEMSELVES AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS THAT OF GETTING LEGAL RIGHTS TO A MINE BEFORE ITS DISCOVERER COULD AS THE MINING CAMPS BECAME PROSPEROUS TOWNS THEY UNDERWENT SOME DRAMATIC CHANGES CAMPS OF SINGLE MINERS LOOKING TO GET RICH AND MOVE ON WERE JOINED BY FAMILIES HOPING TO SETTLE DOWN ESTABLISHING LAW AND ORDER WAS USUALLY THE FIRST STEP TOWARD BUILDING A COMMUNITY ONCE A TOWN WAS PROPERLY GOVERNED MORE SETTLERS ARRIVED SOME OPENED STORES OTHERS TURNED TO FARMING AND LAWYERS MINISTERS TEACHERS AND DOCTORS SOON FOLLOWED PEOPLE BUILT SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES STARTED NEWSPAPERS OPENED HOSPITALS AND BUILT ROADS TO OTHER COMMUNITIES NOT ALL MINING TOWNS WERE SO SUCCESSFUL IN FACT MOST ONLY LASTED AS LONG AS THE MINING WAS PROFITABLE FOR EXAMPLE WHEN THE ORE OF THE COMSTOCK LODE FAILED IN THE 1880S VIRGINIA CITY DECLINED AND EVENTUALLY BECAME A GHOST TOWN CATTLE TOWNS RANCHING IN THE AMERICAN WEST ORIGINATED WHEN SPANIARDS DROVE CATTLE NORTH FROM MEXICO AS EARLY AS 1540 IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE 1800S HOWEVER THAT TRAIL DRIVING BECAME A REGULAR OCCUPATION BY THIS TIME THE EARLY SPANISH CATTLE HAD DEVELOPED INTO NEW BREEDS INCLUDING THE TEXAS LONGHORN TEXANS DROVE CATTLE TO NEW ORLEANS FOR SALE BEFORE THE 1836 REVOLT AGAINST MEXICO AND AFTERWARD THEY DROVE THEM NORTH TO MISSOURI THE BOOM IN CATTLE DRIVING DID NOT OCCUR UNTIL AFTER THE CIVIL WAR WHEN RAILROADS BEGAN CRISSCROSSING THE NATION WITH NO RAILROAD CONNECTIONS TO TEXAS RANCHERS OFTEN DROVE THEIR CATTLE LONG DISTANCES FOR LITTLE PROFIT THIS ALL CHANGED IN 1867 WHEN JOSEPH G MCCOY ESTABLISHED A SHIPPING POINT FOR CATTLE IN ABILENE KANSAS CONNECTED TO THE EASTERN MARKETS BY THE KANSAS PACIFIC RAILROAD TO TEXAS AND THE CHISHOLM TRAIL ABILENE BECAME THE FIRST OF THE CATTLE TOWNS FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS HUGE HERDS OF CATTLE WERE DRIVEN NORTH TO ABILENE AND OTHER KANSAS TOWNS LIKE WICHITA CALDWELL AND DODGE CITY CATTLE TOWNS DEVELOPED MUCH LIKE MINING TOWNS IF THE TOWN MANAGED TO ATTRACT THE CATTLE DRIVES IT WOULD GROW QUICKLY AND AT TIMES WIDELY LARGE SUMS OF MONEY CHANGED HANDS WHEN CATTLE BROKERS DELIVERED THE HERDS TO THE RAILROADS THE COWBOYS WHO DROVE THE HERDS WERE NOT PAID UNTIL THE END OF THE TRAIL AND LOADED WITH MONEY AND WEARY FROM THE LONG AND DIFFICULT RIDE THEY OFTEN LOOKED TO CELEBRATE SALOONS HOTELS RESTAURANTS AND OTHER SHOPS COMPETED TO SERVE THE COWBOYS NEEDS FOR A PRICE THE CATTLE BOOM WAS SHORT LIVED HOWEVER A THE SAME TIME THAT CATTLE DRIVES WERE BECOMING BIG BUSINESS RANCHING EXPANDED NORTHWARD ONTO THE GREAT PLAINS THE RANGES WERE QUICKLY AND SERIOUSLY OVERSTOCKED WITH AN ESTIMATED 7.5 MILLION CATTLE ON THE PLAINS NORTH OF TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO BY THE MID 1880S THE EFFECTS OF OVERGRAZING THE INTRODUCTION OF BARBED WIRE AND HARSH WEATHER DESTROYED MANY RANCHERS AND BROUGHT THE ERA OF THE CATTLE HOURS AND CATTLE DRIVES TO AN END
