The Impact of Military Forts on Agricultural Investments on the Great Plains in 1880

Abstract The authors investigated empirically the relationship between agricultural development and proximity to military forts in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado in 1880. Agricultural investments were substantially higher in counties where a military fort was present, suggesting that military forts stimulated agricultural development on the Great Plains. However, the reverse was not true. The authors found no statistical support for the notion that forts located in counties already experienced substantial development. Moreover, the authors found that the presence of a military fort increased agricultural development, whereas fort closings tended to slow agricultural development.