The Carey Act of 1894 (also known as the Federal Desert Land Act)Carey Act in Idaho http://www.gchshome.org/careyact.htm. allowed private companies in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to erect irrigation systems in the western semi-arid states, and profit from the sales of water. The Carey Act was enacted into law by Congress by the Act of August 18, 1894 (28 Stat. 422), as amended (43 U.S.C. 641 et seq.). It was a new approach for the disposal of public desert land, as the federal government decided this task was too large for individual settlers.Encyclopedia of the American West. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 1996 http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/hits?docNum=BT2330500244&tab=1&locID=pool11244&origSearch=true&hdb=US&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=true&o=&sortOrder=&n=10&l=dR&sgPhrase=false&c=1&tabMap=1&bucket=gal&SU=Carey+Act. Through advertising, these companies attracted farmers to the many states which successfully utilized the act, notably

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. Senator Joseph Maull Carey of Wyoming introduced the bill in 1892 but it was not passed by Congress until 1894 when it was attached as a compromise measure to the 1894 Civil Appropriations Bill. The Act established the

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

, which was controlled by the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

. This land office assigned as many as one million

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s (4,000 km²) of land for each western state. Each state then had to regulate the new land, selecting private contractors, selecting settlers, and the maximum price they could charge for water. Potential settlers who met specific requirements were granted each. Projects were financed by the development companies, who eventually handed over control to an operating company. In most states, settlers had to pay an entry fee, plus a small amount for the land, and meet several guidelines. In

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, for example, settlers had to cultivate and irrigate at least one sixteenth of their parcel within one year from the date which water became available. After another year, one eighth had to be cultivated, and by the third year — had the settler lived in the land, and paid all necessary fees — they would receive the deed to that parcel. In general, the act was not as successful as intended, because few western states had the financial resources to make it effective. However, both Idaho and Wyoming achieved some successes. In 1908 Idaho received an additional two million acres (8,000 km²) and Wyoming received an additional one million acres (4,000 km²) of land to develop under the Carey Act. Today, approximately 60% of the Carey Act lands irrigated in the United States are in Idaho. Examples of successful Carey Act projects include

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's ...

, Minidoka and Twin Falls. Wyoming was home to some of the first projects under the Carey Act, including the Cody Canal financed by a group of investors led by

William F. Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

and supported by then state engineer

Elwood Mead Elwood Mead (January 16, 1858 – January 26, 1936) was an American professor, government official, and engineer known for heading the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) from 1924 until his death in 1936. During his tenure, he oversaw ...

. Many of Wyoming's irrigation projects also began following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Wyoming senator Francis E. Warren was also responsible for bringing the Carey Act to effect.Francis E. Warren http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/RobertsHistory/New_History_of_Wyoming_chapter_13_water.htm {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813170519/http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/RobertsHistory/New_History_of_Wyoming_chapter_13_water.htm , date=2009-08-13 .

References

See also