Struggle On the High Plains: An Economic History of Eastern Colorado

Colorado History has a Forgotten Corner

Ever wonder what happened to the Colorado Sugar Beet Industry-or remember when tractors drove down main streets in small towns across Eastern Colorado in the 1970s?

The story of Colorado's eastern plains is one of ongoing efforts on the part of farmers, families, business and community leaders to achieve security and prosperity in the face of harsh economic and climatological conditions. The enduring struggle has been playing out over the nearly two centuries since the first settlement by Europeans.

Struggle on the High Plains chronicles this region's overlooked economic saga, a rich if neglected part of Colorado's history, that extends from founding of Bent's Fort in the 1830s through siting of the massive Rush Creek wind farm in the 2010s. Highlights include:

- The surge of homesteaders in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

- The large irrigation projects in the Arkansas and South Platte River Valleys

- The Dust Bowl in southeast Colorado and its influence on the lives of plains citizens.

- The entrepreneurs, adventurers and rogues who left their mark on the regions' economy.

The book combines analysis of the episodes of prosperity and decline in the plains economy with stories of their impacts on its communities and their people. It is an invaluable study of the Colorado plains region's history, and will serve as an indispensable resource for students and researchers.