History
The present-day Cimarron National Grassland was the territory of the Comanche and other Indian tribes allied to them. In 1822, William Becknell was the first to traverse the Santa Fe Trail by wagon, pioneering the alternate route called the Cimarron cut-off which passed through the National Grassland. Middle Spring was one of the three reliable sources of good water along more than 150 miles (240 km) of the Cimarron Cutoff trail. In or near the Grassland, mountain man Jedediah Smith was killed by Comanches in 1831.
In 1879, the Beaty Brothers established Point of Rocks Ranch, the first in the area. Wheat farmers soon moved in and prospered in wet years, but the drought of the 1930s caused the Dust Bowl. Morton County, Kansas was the most devastated county in the nation. The Federal government bought land from bankrupt farmers, restored the original prairie, and in 1960 the Cimarron National Grassland was created. The grassland is dedicated to “water conservation, wildlife management, recreation, cattle grazing, and mineral production.” Cattle are grazed and oil and gas wells are found on the Grassland.
In May 2011, there was a substantial wildfire known as the Tunner Fire, which blanketed approximately one half of the park along with several thousands of acres of private prairie and the campground. However, rains in the spring of 2012 have brought about a significant turnaround. The land has greened up and the park's management is reopening many of its sections.
Read more about this topic: Cimarron National Grassland
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