A range war, also known as range conflict or cattle war, is a type of usually violent conflict, most commonly in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the American West. The subject of these conflicts was control of "open range", or range land freely used for cattle grazing, which gave the conflict its name. Typically they were disputes over water rights or grazing rights and cattle ownership.
The Pleasant Valley War, sometimes called the Tonto Basin Feud, or Tonto Basin War, or Tewksbury-Graham Feud, was a range war fought in Pleasant Valley, Arizona in the years 1882–1892. The conflict involved two feuding families, the Grahams and the Tewksburys. The Grahams were ranchers, while the Tewksburys, who were part Native American, started their operations as cattle ranchers before branching out to sheep.
Sundown Slim is a 1920 American silent Western film starring Harry Carey.
Heaven with a Gun is a 1969 American Western film starring Glenn Ford and directed by Lee H. Katzin.
San Gabriel National Forest was established as the San Gabriel Forest Reserve by the United States General Land Office in California on December 20, 1892 through a proclamation order by President Benjamin Harrison. With and area of 555,520 acres (2,248.1 km2), it was the first federal reserve in the state of California.
The Ballad of Josie is a 1967 Technicolor American comedy Western film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring Doris Day, Peter Graves, and George Kennedy. It humorously tackles 1960s themes of feminism in a traditional Western setting.
Jackson Lee "Diamondfield Jack" Davis was pardoned for the 1896 Deep Creek Murders in Idaho and would later strike it rich in Nevada, where he established several mining towns, one named after his nickname "Diamondfield".
Empire Ranch is a working cattle ranch in southeastern Pima County, Arizona, that was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In its heyday, Empire Ranch was one of the largest in Arizona, with a range spanning over 180 square miles (470 km2), and its owner, Walter L. Vail, was an important figure in the establishment of southern Arizona's cattle industry. It is currently owned by the Bureau of Land Management with a grazing lease to a private operator.
The sheep wars, or the sheep and cattle wars, were a series of armed conflicts in the Western United States fought between sheepmen and cattlemen over grazing rights. Sheep wars occurred in many western states, though they were most common in Texas, Arizona, and the border region of Wyoming and Colorado. Generally, the cattlemen saw the sheepherders as invaders who destroyed the public grazing lands, which they had to share on a first-come, first-served basis. Between 1870 and 1920, approximately 120 engagements occurred in eight states or territories. At least 54 men were killed and some 50,000 to over 100,000 sheep were slaughtered.
The Sheepshooters' War was an armed conflict fought in central and eastern Oregon. Like other range wars in the Old West, the war pitted cattlemen against sheepherders. Because the cattlemen were unwilling to share the open range with the sheepherders, due to concerns about overgrazing, they formed paramilitary organizations with the goal of eliminating the flocks of sheep and anyone who attempted to stop them. Between 1895 and 1906, the Sheepshooters, as they were called, slaughtered at least 25,000 sheep. A few men were also killed during gunfights or related incidents.
Montana is a 1950 American Western film directed by Ray Enright and starring Errol Flynn. It was only the second time Flynn played an Australian on screen, the first time being Desperate Journey (1942).
The Spring Creek raid, also known as the Tensleep Murders or the Tensleep Raid, occurred in 1909 and was the last serious conflict during the Sheep Wars in Wyoming, as well as the deadliest sheep raid in the state's history. On the night of April 2, the sheepherder Joe Allemand and four of his associates were encamped along Spring Creek, near the town of Ten Sleep, when a group of seven masked cattlemen attacked them. It remains uncertain as to whether or not an exchange of gunfire took place between the two parties, but evidence suggests that Allemand and two of his men were executed while the remaining two escaped unharmed. Two sheep wagons were also destroyed by fire and about two dozen head of sheep were shot to death. Seven men were arrested for the crime, two of whom turned state's evidence and were acquitted. The rest were found guilty and sent to prison for sentences ranging from three years to life in prison. The conviction of the Tensleep murderers effectively put an end to the killings on the open range and exemplified the arrival of law and order in a region that still retained its rugged frontier environment after the end of the 19th century. Although there continued to be sheep raids in Wyoming into the 1910s, there were no more deaths.
Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge is a 1937 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Betty Bronson. Based on a story by Jack Natteford, the film is about the son of a Southeastern cattleman who becomes entangled in a war between the cattlemen and "turpentiners" who make their living harvesting pine tree sap.
The Big Land is a 1957 American Western film in Warnercolor directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Alan Ladd, Virginia Mayo and Edmond O'Brien.
The Roba Ranch is a pioneer ranch located near the small unincorporated community of Paulina in Crook County, Oregon. The ranch is named for George and Mary Roba, sheep ranchers who acquired the property in 1892. Most of the important ranch buildings were constructed by the Roba family between about 1892 and 1910. Today, the ranch covers 1,480 acres (6.0 km2) and is privately owned. The ranch was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
The Medico of Painted Springs is a 1941 American Western film produced by Columbia Pictures. Based on the novel of the same name by James Lyon Rubel, the film stars Charles Starrett, Terry Walker, Ben Taggart, Wheeler Oakman, and the Simp-Phonies in a cameo appearance. It was directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Wyndham Gittens and Winston Miller. In the film, Starrett's character, Dr. Steven Monroe, travels to a tumultuous Painted Springs and attempts to resolve a raging conflict between two camps – the cattlemen and the sheep ranchers.
The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) is a non-profit membership organization that works on behalf of Montana cattle ranchers.
Ride the Man Down is a 1952 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane, written by Mary C. McCall, Jr., and starring Brian Donlevy, Rod Cameron, Ella Raines, Forrest Tucker, Barbara Britton, Chill Wills and J. Carrol Naish. The film was released on November 25, 1952, by Republic Pictures.
The Old Chisholm Trail is a 1942 American Western film written and directed by Elmer Clifton. The film stars Johnny Mack Brown, Tex Ritter, Fuzzy Knight, Jennifer Holt, Mady Correll and Earle Hodgins. The film was released on December 11, 1942, by Universal Pictures.
Code of the Fearless is a 1939 American Western film directed by Raymond K. Johnson and written by Fred Myton. The film stars Fred Scott, Claire Rochelle, John Merton, Walter McGrail, George Sherwood and Harry Harvey Sr. The film was released on January 5, 1939, by Spectrum Pictures.
