I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute.
When early settlers arrived in what is now the state of Colorado, they found Native Americans growing what is called the three sisters, corn, soybeans, and squash. The Arkansas River marked the boundary between Mexican and U. S. territories at the time, and Spanish-speaking immigrants settled along the southern routes and irrigated small patches of cultivated lands as their forebears had done.
Commercial agriculture developed in the Pikes Peak region after gold was discovered in 1858. Once fortune seekers began to realize the difficulty in striking it rich, many turned their pickaxes for plows and focused on the fertile lands in the lower Arkansas Valley.
That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.