User:Smallchief/Depopulation of the Great Plains60
Depopulation of the Great Plains
The Depopulation of the Great Plains consists of migration of people from the rural areas of the Great Plains of the United States to urban areas and to the east and west coasts. This phenomena of rural to urban migration occured in most rural areas of the United States but was especially noticeable in the Great Plains where many counties have lost more than 60 percent of their population. Depopulation began in the early 1900s, accelerated in the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s and has continued until the most recent census of 2010.
Geography
[edit]Definitions of what land comprises the Great Plains of the United States differ somewhat, but the Plains consist of all or part of ten states: Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The eastern boundary is about 97 degrees W longitude and the Plains extend westward to the Rocky Mountains and southward from the border with Canada to the approximate latitude of Austin, Texas.[1] A somewhat more restrictive definition by the US Census Bureau gives a total area of the Great Plains in the United States as 533,100 square miles (1,381,000 km2), 18 percent of the area of the U.S.[2]
The Great Plains are distinguished by generally flat land and a natural vegetation cover consisting mostly of grassland. The eastern part of the Great Plains are often intensely farmed with wheat being the most important crop. The western part is rainfall-deficient and primarily used for grazing cattle and irrigated agriculture.
Population history
[edit]Settlement of the Great Plains by farmers and ranchers began after the end of the Civil War in 1865. By the late 1870s the Plains Indians had been defeated militarily and were confined to reservations. Drawn by the free land made available by the Homestead Act, nearly all the land of the Great Plains was in private ownership or on Indian reservations by 1900.
The rush to settle the Great Plains by hundreds of thousands of farmers and ranchers reversed because of several factors. Farm economies shifted from small scale family subsistence farming to larger commercial farms utilizing more equipment and less labor. [3] Many family farms proved to be to small to survive. Farmers also used farming techniques that were unsuited to the dryer windier climate and the frquent droughts of the Great Plains. This began manifest during the Dust Bowl years in the 1930s in which rural flight from the Great Plains accelerated, although the decline in population of some counties on the Great Plains had begun as early as 1900.[4] Better roads and the automobile permitted many farmers to live in larger towns and cities rather than on the farm. While urban areas more than doubled in population on the Great Plains, thousands of small towns and communites disappeared on the Great Plains. Two-thirds of the counties on the plains lost population, and, as the table below demonstrates, many rural counties lost more than 60 percent of their population between the early 1900s and the 2010 census. A few counties lost more than 80 percent of their population. Population density of some counties dipped below two persons per square mile.[5]
Stemming the tide
[edit]Governments have tried a variety of methods to stem the outflow of population from rural areas in the Great Plains. Some towns have offered free building lots to prospective residents, but the program has met with only limited success. The fundamental problem appears to be that there are few employment opportunities available in these small and isolated communities. [6]
Great Plains counties losing more than 60 percent of their population between 1900 and 2010
[edit]Population losses in rural counties of 60 percent or more during the period 1900 to 2010 have been common on the Great Plains, but uncommon elsewhere in the United States. The following table lists those counties in the Great Plains which have had such losses, plus the 2010 density of population per square mile.
| State and County name | area in square miles (km sq) (includes both land and water area) | greatest population (census year) | 2010 population | percentage decline in population | 2010 population density per sq. mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | |||||
| Baca | 2,557 square miles (6,620 km2) | 10,570 (1930) | 3,788 | -64.8 | 1.5 |
| Huerfano | 1,593 square miles (4,130 km2) | 17,062 (1930) | 6,711 | -60.7 | 4.2 |
| Kiowa | 1,786 square miles (4,630 km2) | 3,786 (1930) | 1,398 | -63.1 | 0.8 |
| Kansas | |||||
| Cheyenne | 1,021 square miles (2,640 km2) | 6,948 (1930) | 2,726 | -60.8 | 2.7 |
| Comanche | 790 square miles (2,000 km2) | 5,302 (1920) | 1,891 | -64.3 | 2.4 |
| Decatur | 894 square miles (2,320 km2) | 9,234 (1900) | 2,961 | -67.9 | 3.3 |
| Graham | 899 square miles (2,330 km2) | 8,700 (1910) | 2,597 | -70.1 | 2.9 |
| Jewell | 914 square miles (2,370 km2) | 19,420 (1900) | 3,077 | -84.2 | 3.4 |
| Lincoln | 720 square miles (1,900 km2) | 10,142 (1910) | 3,241 | -68.0 | 4.5 |
| Osborne | 864 square miles (2,240 km2) | 12,827 (1910) | 3,858 | -69.9 | 4.5 |
| Phillips | 895 square miles (2,320 km2) | 14,442 (1900) | 5,642 | -60.9 | 6.3 |
| Rawlins | 1,070 square miles (2,800 km2) | 6,790 (1920) | 2,519 | -62.9 | 2.4 |
| Republic | 720 square miles (1,900 km2) | 18,248 (1900) | 4,980 | -72.7 | 6.9 |
| Rush | 718 square miles (1,860 km2) | 9,093 (1930) | 3,307 | -63.6 | 4.6 |
| Smith | 897 square miles (2,320 km2) | 16,384 (1900) | 3,853 | -76.5 | 4.3 |
| Stafford | 795 square miles (2,060 km2) | 12,510 (1910) | 4,437 | -64.5 | 5.6 |
| Washington | 899 square miles (2,330 km2) | 21,963 (1900) | 5,799 | -73.6 | 6.5 |
| Montana | |||||
| Carter | 3,348 square miles (8,670 km2) | 4,136 (1930) | 1,160 | -72.0 | 0.3 |
| Chouteau | 3,997 square miles (10,350 km2) | 17,191 (1910) | 5,813 | -66.2 | 1.5 |
| Daniels | 1,427 square miles (3,700 km2) | 5,553 (1930) | 1,751 | -68.5 | 0.8 |
| Garfield | 4,849 square miles (12,560 km2) | 5,368 (1920) | 1,206 | -77.5 | 0.2 |
| Judith Basin | 1,871 square miles (4,850 km2) | 5,238 (1930) | 2,072 | -60.4 | 0.5 |
| McCone | 2,682 square miles (6,950 km2) | 4,790 (1930) | 1,734 | -63.8 | 0.6 |
| Musselshell | 1,872 square miles (4,850 km2) | 12,030 (1930) | 4,538 | -62.3 | 2.4 |
| Petroleum | 1,675 square miles (4,340 km2) | 2,045 (1930) | 494 | -75.8 | 0.3 |
| Prairie | 1,742 square miles (4,510 km2) | 3,941 (1930) | 1,179 | -70.1 | 0.5 |
| Sheridan | 1,704 square miles (4,410 km2) | 13,847 (1920) | 3,384 | -75.6 | 1.9 |
| Treasure | 985 square miles (2,550 km2) | 1,990 (1920 | 718 | -63.9 | 0.7 |
| Wheatland | 1,428 square miles (3,700 km2) | 5,619 (1920) | 2,168 | -61.4 | 1.5 |
| Wibaux | 889 square miles (2,300 km2) | 3,113 (1920) | 1,017 | -67.3 | 1.1 |
| Nebraska | |||||
| Arthur | 718 square miles (1,860 km2) | 1,412 (1920) | 460 | -67.4 | 0.6 |
| Blaine | 714 square miles (1,850 km2) | 1,778 (1920) | 478 | -73.1 | 0.7 |
| Boyd | 546 square miles (1,410 km2) | 8,826 (1910) | 2,099 | -76.2 | 3.8 |
| Dundy | 921 square miles (2,390 km2) | 5,610 (1930) | 2,008 | -64.2 | 2.2 |
| Fillmore | 577 square miles (1,490 km2) | 15,087 (1900) | 5,890 | -61.0 | 9.8 |
| Franklin | 576 square miles (1,490 km2) | 10,303 (1910) | 3,225 | -68.7 | 5.6 |
| Frontier | 980 square miles (2,500 km2) | 8,781 (1900) | 2,756 | -68.6 | 2.8 |
| Gosper | 463|sqmi{{ | 5,301 (1900) | 2,044 | -61.4 | 4.4 |
| Greeley | 571 square miles (1,480 km2) | 8,685 (1920) | 2,538 | -70.8 | 2.9 |
| Harlan | 574 square miles (1,490 km2) | 9,578 (1910) | 3,423 | -64.3 | 6.0 |
| Hayes | 713 square miles (1,850 km2) | 3,603 (1930) | 967 | -73.2 | 1.4 |
| Keya Paha | 774 square miles (2,000 km2) | 3,594 (1920) | 763 | -78.8 | 1.0 |
| Logan | 571 square miles (1,480 km2) | 2,014 (1930) | 763 | -62.1 | 1.3 |
| Loup | 571 square miles (1,480 km2) | 2,188 (1910) | 632 | -71.1 | 1.1 |
| McPherson | 860 square miles (2,200 km2) | 2,470 (1910) | 539 | -78.8 | 0.6 |
| Pawnee | 433 square miles (1,120 km2) | 11,770 (1900) | 2,773 | -76.4 | 6.4 |
| Rock | 1,012 square miles (2,620 km2) | 3,977 (1940) | 1,526 | -61.6 | 1.5 |
| Sioux | 2,067 square miles (5,350 km2) | 5,599 (1910) | 1,311 | -76.6 | 0.6 |
| Thayer | 575 square miles (1,490 km2) | 14,775 (1910) | 5,228 | -64.6 | 9.1 |
| Thomas | 714 square miles (1,850 km2) | 1.773 (1920) | 647 | -63.5 | 0.9 |
| Webster | 575 square miles (1,490 km2) | 12,008 (1910) | 3,812 | -61.3 | 6.6 |
| Wheeler | 576 square miles (1,490 km2) | 2,531 (1920) | 818 | -67.7 | 1.4 |
| New Mexico | |||||
| Harding | 2,126 square miles (5,510 km2) | 4,421 (1930) | 695 | -84.3 | 0.3 |
| Mora | 1,933 square miles (5,010 km2) | 13,915 (1920) | 4,861 | -65.1 | 2.5 |
| Union | 3,831 square miles (9,920 km2) | 16,680 (1930) | 4,549 | -72.7 | 1.2 |
| North Dakota | |||||
| Adams | 989 square miles (2,560 km2) | 6,343 (1930) | 2,343 | -63.1 | 2.4 |
| Billings | 1,153 square miles (2,990 km2) | 3,126 (1920) | 783 | -75.0 | 0.7 |
| Bottineau | 1,698 square miles (4,400 km2) | 17,295 (1910) | 6,429 | -62.8 | 3.8 |
| Burke | 1,129 square miles (2,920 km2) | 9,998 (1930) | 1,968 | -80.3 | 1.7 |
| Cavalier | 1,510 square miles (3,900 km2) | 15,659 (1910) | 3,993 | -74.5 | 2.6 |
| Divide | 1,295 square miles (3,350 km2)} | 6,015 (1910) | 2,071 | -65.6 | 1.6 |
| Dunn | 2,082 square miles (5,390 km2) | 9,566 (1930) | 3,536 | -63.0 | 1.7 |
| Eddy | 695 square miles (1,800 km2) | 6,493 (1920) | 2,395 | -63.1 | 3.4 |
| Emmons | 1,555 square miles (4,030 km2) | 12,467 (1930) | 3,550 | -71.5 | 2.3 |
| Golden Valley | 1,002 square miles (2,600 km2) | 4,832 (1920) | 1,680 | -65.2 | 1.7 |
| Grant | 1,666 square miles (4,310 km2) | 10,134 (1930) | 2,394 | -76.4 | 1.4 |
| Griggs | 1,142 square miles (2,960 km2) | 7,402 (1920) | 2,420 | -67.3 | 3.4 |
| Hettinger | 1,134 square miles (2,940 km2) | 8,796 (1930) | 2,477 | -71.8 | 2.2 |
| Kidder | 1,433 square miles (3,710 km2) | 8,031 (1930) | 2,455 | -69.4 | 1.7 |
| LaMoure | 1,151 square miles (2,980 km2) | 11,517 (1930) | 4,139 | -64.1 | 3.6 |
| Logan | 1,011 square miles (2,620 km2) | 8,089 (1930) | 1,990 | -75.4 | 2.0 |
| McHenry | 1,912 square miles (4,950 km2) | 17,627 (1910) | 5,395 | -69.4 | 2.8 |
| McIntosh | 995 square miles (2,580 km2) | 9,621 (1930) | 2,809 | -70.8 | 2.8 |
| Nelson | 1,009 square miles (2,610 km2) | 10,312 (1920) | 3,126 | -69.7 | 3.1 |
| Renville | 892 square miles (2,310 km2) | 7,840 (1910) | 2,450 | -68.7 | 2.8 |
| Sargent | 867 square miles (2,250 km2) | 9,655 (1920) | 3,829 | -60.3 | 4.4 |
| Sheridan | 1,006 square miles (2,610 km2) | 8,103 (1910) | 1,321 | -83.7 | 1.3 |
| Slope | 1,219 square miles (3,160 km2) | 4,940 (1920) | 727 | -85.3 | 0.6 |
| Steele | 715 square miles (1,850 km2) | 7,616 (1910) | 1975 | -74.1 | 2.8 |
| Towner | 1,042 square miles (2,700 km2) | 8,963 (1910) | 2,246 | -74.9 | 2.2 |
| Wells | 1,291 square miles (3,340 km2) | 13,285 ((1930) | 4,207 | -68.3 | 3.3 |
| Oklahoma | |||||
| Alfalfa | 881 square miles (2,280 km2) | 18,138 (1910) | 5,642 | -68.9 | 6.4 |
| Cotton | 642 square miles (1,660 km2) | 16,679 (1920) | 6,193 | -62.9 | 9.6 |
| Dewey | 1,008 square miles (2,610 km2) | 14,132 (1910) | 4,810 | -66.0 | 4.8 |
| Ellis | 1,232 square miles (3,190 km2) | 15,375 (1910) | 4,151 | -73.0 | 3.4 |
| Grant | 1,004 square miles (2,600 km2) | 18,760 (1910) | 4,527 | -75.9 | 4.5 |
| Greer | 644 square miles (1,670 km2) | 17,922 (1900) | 6,239 | -65.2 | 9.7 |
| Harmon | 539 square miles (1,400 km2) | 13,834 (1930) | 2,922 | -78.8 | 5.4 |
| Jefferson | 774 square miles (2,000 km2) | 17,764 (1920) | 6,472 | -63.6 | 8.4 |
| Kiowa | 1,031 square miles (2,670 km2) | 29,630 (1930) | 9,446 | -68.1 | 9.2 |
| Roger Mills | 1,146 square miles (2,970 km2) | 14,164 (1930) | 3,647 | -74.3 | 3.2 |
| Tillman | 879 square miles (2,280 km2) | 24,390 (1930) | 7,992 | -67.2 | 9.1 |
| Washita | 1,009 square miles (2,610 km2) | 29,435 (1930) | 11,629 | -60.5 | 11.5 |
| South Dakota | |||||
| Aurora | 713 square miles (1,850 km2) | 7,246 (1920) | 2,710 | -62.6 | 3.8 |
| Campbell | 771 square miles (2,000 km2) | 5,629 (1930) | 1,466 | -74.0 | 2.0 |
| Clark | 968 square miles (2,510 km2) | 11,136 (1920) | 3,691 | -66.9 | 3.9 |
| Day | 1,091 square miles (2,830 km2) | 15,194 (1920) | 5,710 | -62.4 | 5.8 |
| Faulk | 1,006 square miles (2,610 km2) | 6,895 (1930) | 2,364 | -65.7 | 2.4 |
| Gregory | 1,053 square miles (2,730 km2) | 13,061 (1910) | 4,271 | -67.3 | 4.2 |
| Hand | 1,440 square miles (3,700 km2) | 9,485 (1930) | 3,431 | -63.8 | 2.4 |
| Harding | 2,678 square miles (6,940 km2) | 4,228 (1910) | 1,255 | -69.3 | 0.5 |
| Hyde | 867 square miles (2,250 km2) | 3,690 {1930) | 1,420 | -61.5 | 1.7 |
| Jerauld | 533 square miles (1,380 km2) | 6,338 (1920) | 2,071 | -67.3 | 3.9 |
| Jones | 1,003 square miles (2,600 km2) | 3,177 (1930) | 1,008 | -68.3 | 1.0 |
| Lyman | 1,707 square miles (4,420 km2) | 10,848 (1910) | 3,755 | -61.1 | 2.3 |
| McPherson | 1,152 square miles (2,980 km2) | 8,774 (1930) | 2,469 | -71.9 | 2.2 |
| Melette | 1,310 square miles (3,400 km2) | 5,293 (1930) | 2,048 | -61.3 | 1.8 |
| Miner | 572 square miles (1,480 km2) | 8,560 (1920) | 2,389 | -72.1 | 4.2 |
| Perkins | 2,891 square miles (7,490 km2) | 11,348 (1910) | 2,982 | -73.7 | 1.0 |
| Sanborn | 570 square miles (1,500 km2) | 7,877 (1920) | 2,365 | -70.0 | 4.1 |
| Sully | 1,070 square miles (2,800 km2) | 3,852 (1930) | 1,373 | -64,4 | 1.4 |
| Texas | |||||
| Briscoe | 902 square miles (2,340 km2) | 5,590 (1930) | 1,637 | -72.7 | 1.8 |
| Coleman | 1,281 square miles (3,320 km2) | 23,669 (1930) | 8,895 | -62.4 | 6.9 |
| Collingsworth | 919 square miles (2,380 km2) | 14,461 (1930) | 3,057 | -78.9 | 3.3 |
| Cottle | 902 square miles (2,340 km2) | 9,395 (1930) | 1,505 | -84.0 | 1.7 |
| Dickens | 905 square miles (2,340 km2) | 8,601 (1930) | 2,444 | -71.6 | 2.7 |
| Donley | 933 square miles (2,420 km2) | 10,262 (1930) | 3,677 | -64.2 | 3.9 |
| Eastland | 932 square miles (2,410 km2) | 58,565 (1920) | 18,583 | -68.3 | 19.9 |
| Fisher | 902 square miles (2,340 km2) | 13,565 (1930) | 3,974 | -71.5 | 4.4 |
| Foard | 708 square miles (1,830 km2) | 6,315 (1930) | 1,336 | -78.9 | 1.9 |
| Hall | 904 square miles (2,340 km2) | 16,966 (1930) | 3,353 | -80.2 | 3.7 |
| Hardeman | 697 square miles (1,810 km2) | 14,532 (1930) | 4,139 | -71.5 | 5.9 |
| Haskell | 910 square miles (2,400 km2) | 16,669 (1930) | 5,899 | -64.6 | 6.5 |
| Kent | 903 square miles (2,340 km2) | 3,851 (1930) | 808 | -79.0 | 0.9 |
| King | 913 square miles (2,360 km2) | 1,193 (1930) | 286 | -76.0 | 0.3 |
| Knox | 855 square miles (2,210 km2) | 11,368 (1930) | 3,719 | -67.3 | 4.3 |
| Loving | 677 square miles (1,750 km2) | 285 (1930) | 82 | -71.2 | 0.1 |
| Motley | 990 square miles (2,600 km2) | 6,812 (1930) | 1,210 | -82.2 | 1.2 |
| Stonewall | 920 square miles (2,400 km2) | 5,667 (1930) | 1,490 | -73.7 | 1.6 |
| Throckmorton | 915 square miles (2,370 km2) | 5,253 (1930) | 1,641 | -68.8 | 1.8 |
| Wheeler | 915 square miles (2,370 km2) | 15,555 (1930) | 5,410 | -65.2 | 5.9 |
| Wyoming | |||||
| Niobrara | 2,628 square miles (6,810 km2) | 6,321 (1920) | 2,484 | -60.7 | 0.9 |
Sources: "County Population Census Counts, 1900-1990" http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/index.html, accessed 29 Apr 2013; "USA counties" http://censtats.census.gov/usa/usa.shtml, accessed 29 Apr 2013
- ^ Wishart, David. 2004. "The Great Plains Region", In: Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, pp. xiii-xviii. ISBN 0-8032-4787-7
- ^ Wilson, S.G. "Population Dynamics of the Great Plains, 1950-2007" http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p25-1137.pdf, accessed 7 May 2013
- ^ Cronon, William (1991). Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West. New York: Norton.
- ^ Cooper, Michael L. (2004). Dust to eat: drought and depression in the 1930s. New York: Clarion.
- ^ "Free land fails to draw new homesteaders to Kansas towns" McClatchy, March 15, 2013, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/30/v-print?91343/free-land-in-kansas-t, accessed 6 May 2013
- ^ "Midwest Towns cannot give land away to modern homesteaders" Reuters, March 31, 2012 http://www.reuters.cm/assets/print?aid+USBRE830001N20120401, accessed 6 May 2013