Industry
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The Homestead Act of 1862 and the Desert Land Act of 1877 allowed private land ownership, and homesteaders had to build fences to keep out open range cattle. Their work became easier when the 1874 Glidden patent led to the large-scale production of barbed wire. Cattlemen had used the open range for many years and needed the land for grazing. In some areas of the West, range wars erupted, and cattlemen cut the fences homesteaders built. The increased number of settlers and the building of fences contributed to the end of the open range.
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Deer Lodge, Montana · United States
