Ranching: An Enduring Legacy

Dating from 1878, when Leadville butcher Reid Mathews used the valley's abundant grass to fatten his cattle during the summer, ranching is the oldest continuous industry in North Park. Many other cattlemen followed, drawn in part by severe drought along the Front Range. The Homestead Act of 1862, which promised 160 to 640 acres of land to anyone who would occupy and improve it for five years, helped establish numerous North Park ranches. Ranching remains a major industry in North Park today. Early ranching there was a major challenge because of the valley's remote location, long bone-chilling winters, exhausting brief summers, blizzards, and diseases that could quickly devastate livestock herds. Although the valley's plentiful native grasses could be harvested for winter use, the short growing season, averaging 44 days, made other farming virtually impossible. During the brutal winters of 1884-1885 and 1885-1886, as many as one-half of the cattle in North Park died.

Colorado · United States