ABSTRACT
Colorado's population has been predominantly urban since 1930, and in 1980, 80.6 percent of the state's populace lived in cities. This is a greater percentage of urban dwellers than the 73.2 percent of the US population that is classified as urban. Railroads and the open range cattle industry were the parents of towns on the plains. The railroad construction boom of the 1870s corresponded with the development of cattle ranching in Colorado. The Kansas Pacific Railroad reached Kit Carson in 1869 and became an important link to the St. Louis market. In the late 1880s, coinciding with the collapse of the range cattle industry, the tide of farming settlement swept across the plains. This was the era when dry farming was being widely touted as the solution to the problem of drought. The railroads were particularly active in spreading this propaganda, motivated by the hope of luring settlers and consequently business to the areas they served.
