The Homestead Era

The pages below are excerpted with permission from David Harvey’s “A General Historical Survey of the Pryor Mountains.” Harvey spent the summer of 1974 as an intern for the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). He interviewed old timers from the homestead era, did research in libraries, and visited various historical sites in the Pryors. He then wrote his survey which was published by WICHE.

This is more oral history than academic history. As Harvey writes: “[A] research problem was the conflicting information I occasionally received from my interviews. I would get different versions of the same story, or on the location or significance of a historical site. So the authenticity of certain information may be questioned. Nevertheless, most of the questionable information has some value, because it is part of the folklore of the area.” Another historian Victor Konrad writes in “The Pryor Mountain Homestead Landscape,” 1984: “A great deal of Harvey’s history of the Pryors is based on tales recounted by local informants. … When compared to facts documented in homesteaders’ serial files and Custer National Forest Records, tales recounted by Harvey [and others] usually are lacking in detail and veracity. Nevertheless, oral history and published local accounts do provide the opinion and minutia to color information established in the records.”

We think this is an interesting introduction to the homestead era in the Pryors. We would be glad to hear from any amateur or professional historians who have studied the history of the area.

Cattle Rustling, Sawmills, and a Cheese Factory.
Upper Sage Creek and the Northern Pryors.

Buffalo Skulls, a Dude Ranch, Gold?, and Will James.
Dryhead Country

Management Recommendations from David Harvey:
At the end of his 1974 report, David Harvey made recommendations to the agencies managing the Pryors. These recommendations include the following general statements:

“To preserve the natural tranquility and environment of many areas where sites are located, motor vehicle traffic should be prohibited. The construction of hiking trails to some of these sites might be a feasible alternative.”

“I am for minimal development of the Pryors. I do not want to compromise its unique personality of serenity by criss-crossing it with more roads, or even improve present roads.”