In the mid- 19th century, the western United States was often portrayed as a lawless frontier, a vast expanse of rugged wilderness where justice was as unpredictable as the landscape. With the rapid expansion of settlers, miners, cowboys, and enterprising folks alike, there was need for justice. Most of Wyoming was in the Louisiana Purchase. Idaho however, was west of the Louisiana Purchase boundaries, occupied by native Americans and was sparsely distributed with French and British fur trappers, some Spaniards from the south and some Asian and Russian explorers. The Corp of Discovery Expedition set up forts in territories west of the Louisiana Purchase's boundary and sent US Army soldiers to assist the settlers with law and order. John Jacob Astor commissioned westward explorations and used the forts to set up commerce trading sites for the American and Pacific Fur Companies. By the Civil War, there were nearly 7 million Americans living west of the Appalachians.
At the end of the Civil War in 1865, another migration of various peoples came from the east and across the Mississippi River into the American frontier. The eastern United States was battered from the war and everyone wanted a new start. The Homestead Act of 1862 promised 160 acres of land to every man and married woman willing to 'proof up' on the property. In addition
to legislation designed to facilitate western settlement, the U.S.
government assumed an active role on the ground, building numerous forts
throughout the West to protect and assist settlers during their migration. The US Army was the law of the land before, during, and after the Civil War.
Idaho and Wyoming were granted statehood in 1890. Local governments were fledgling and still relied heavily on Army rangers to uphold the law. Neighboring Utah did not become a state until 1896 and the boundaries between the 2 states and a territory were disorderly.
PBS American Experience: The Path to Utah's Statehood
Law and order came to the land over time. Vigilante justice was offered a civilized alternative through a system of local courts. Towns were building courthouses, appointing judges and sheriffs, and the federal government was still there to back them up, especially helpful in the rural outreaches of the jurisdictions. The US Forest Service had rangers upholding the law as soon as the Caribou National Forest was designated in 1907.
Grand Valley and the Caribou mountains were quite lawless until the rangers started to pass through the mining towns, sheep camps, and little homesteads. Mining towns were notoriously rough places. Bars made up the bulk of businesses in mining boom towns like Caribou City but were condemned by prohibition and it was the task of the US Forest Ranger to hold these operations accountable to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The stories of moonshine operations being found in the hills, and drunk sheepherders stretched across Grand Valley were told by these rangers. Watch for those stories in future posts.
