John Iliff – Ranching on the Plains (1870)

• In 1861 Colorado Territory was created. There was a great demand for meat in Denver City, but until 1870 it had no railroad connection.
• • John Iliff realised that if he could keep a herd of cows on the Plains, he could supply beef to the Colorado mining towns without having to drive the cattle up all the way from Texas.
  • Iliff created a massive ranch (a farm for raising cattle) on the Colorado Plains, with a herd of 26,000 cattle.
  • In 1872 he won a contract to supply beef to 7000 Sioux Indians. He became Denver’s first millionaire.
  • This marked the start of open range ranching – where cattle roamed freely across large areas of the Plains.