History ETDs

Publication Date

5-25-1970

Abstract

This study deals with the rise and fall of the open range period in New Mexico Territory from 1865 to 1900. Its purpose is to examine one section of the range country that has been left untouched by historians of the West. Since there has been a definite lack of ranch records and personal papers in New Mexico, county records, newspapers, diaries, and other primary material make up the burden of the research. This investigation reveals that New Mexico Territory rose and fell like the great cattle kingdoms of Texas and Montana; yet New Mexico Territory was also unique, since both her rise and fall were much later than in the other areas. This study first treats the early aspects of cattle ranching in New Mexico from earlier times to 1846, relying on the translated records of Spanish explorers and settlers, and the untranslated archives of the Spanish and Mexican period. Then it turns to the cattle industry of Lincoln, Colfax, Mora, and Grant Counties. County records, government documents, newspapers, pioneer tapes, and assorted primary material were used in these areas. After the expansion from Lincoln County to Grant County has been described, the study turns to cattlemen's problems over railroads and the public domain, how they formed associations, and ultimately how they resorted to fencing. The final section deals with the Bell Ranch Company and the decline of the open range period. My thesis is that the unique environment of New Mexico caused the open range period in New Mexico to be unlike that, or the other areas. The beginning of the open range period came later with John Chisum of the Pecos Valley who utilized local markets and government contracts. This thesis is also valid in regard to New Mexico cattlemen's associations and the decline of the open range period. The proliferation of regional associations is found only in New Mexico and the decline of the range cattle industry did not take place until the early 1890's, after the decline in both Texas and the North. While New Mexico was affected by national trends, she had been relatively isolated from the period of the Spaniards to the 20th Century. This circumstance in itself can explain the uniqueness of the range cattle industry in New Mexico Territory.

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Degree Name

History

Department Name

History

First Committee Member (Chair)

Ferenc Morton Szasz

Second Committee Member

William Miner Dabney

Third Committee Member

Donald Colgett Cutter

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

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