Category: Final project

In my final project, I will seek to answer the following question: How rapid was population growth in mining boom towns built near newly discovered deposits of precious metals and minerals in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains in the 1800s? Did the type of mineral or precious metal mined near a mining boom town and a mining boom town’s ease-of-access by roads, trails, or waterways impact the rate of population increase they experienced?

In the 1800s in Colorado, white settlers in the Rocky Mountains found deposits of gold, silver, lead, and other valuable metals that caused an influx of white settlers into what is now the Colorado Rocky Mountains. [1] This massive influx of immigrants and settlers hoping to strike it rich by mining precious metals and minerals in the Rockies created numerous mining boom towns whose population growth rates exploded. One of these boom towns, Leadville, grew so large that when the Territory of Colorado was applying for statehood in 1876 it was the second most populous city in the state. [2]

However, particularly in the 1800s, the Rocky Mountains were a challenging place to traverse. Peaks thousands of feet high rise above canyons that dip into the shadows of those frigid, treeless peaks. Roads in the Rockies today often take somewhat winding routes through canyons, valleys, and tunnels which remain difficult to traverse and maintain today. In the 1800s the road, trail, and waterway networks in the Rocky Mountains were certainly not as efficient or developed as they are today providing an extreme challenge to settlers hoping to penetrate into the mountainous interior of the state. For this reason, I want to investigate whether mining boom towns that were located near the eastern edge of the Rockies or in other easier-to-access locales attracted larger numbers of migrants and settlers which in turn increased their population growth. Additionally, I want to investigate whether the type of mineral or precious metal mined near these boom towns led more migrants and settlers to move to certain boom towns despite their potentially difficult-to-reach locations. To analyze this, I will investigate and map census records of the Territory and State of Colorado, mining districts and mineral and precious metal deposits in the state, road and navigable waterway network maps of Colorado in the 1800s, topographic maps of the Rocky Mountains, and possibly diaries or journals kept by settlers which I can use to analyze how they chose where to settle and the travel challenges they faced along the way.

Bibliography

[1] Colorado Geological Survey, “Metals,” Colorado Geological Survey, accessed Feb. 27, 2024, https://coloradogeologicalsurvey.org/minerals/metals/.

[2] Trevor Mark, “Was Leadville Almost the State Capital?” Herald Democrat (Leadville, CO), Nov. 8, 2017. https://www.leadvilleherald.com/news/article_0276a8c6-c4ba-11e7-a26a-4fa814987988.html

How has increased deer hunting in Iowa affected (both doe and antlered) populations within each county?

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the deer herd in Iowa was nonexistent. James Dinsmore, a prevalent professor at Iowa State University, said that the deer was extirpated by the year 1900. The Department of Resources did far little far too late, which led to this near absence within Iowa. By 1860, eastern counties had little to no deer. By 1898, the DNR finally had stepped in to protect the species; but again, this was much too late [1]. By that time, deer populations within the whole state had plummeted to zeros. From here on there was absolutely no hunting of deer within the Iowa state lines. The species was fully protected under law.

Then came brighter days. In 1953, the state supported a program allowing sanctioned hunting of white-tailed deer. However, it was only 5 days and started after 9 A.M. on each of these days. Each kill was taken to a local check-point for strict observation and data collection [1]. I desire to be a hunter in this situation–getting the chance to hunt deer who have been undisturbed for 50 years. Anyways, there were ~3,000 deer killed state-wide within those five short days. If that sounds high, 109,544 were killed in the 2020-2021 season alone. But I worry, could we be pushing the herd too hard? Are we headed towards another population crash? How has all of this hunting affected the deer population? Have we created imbalances in gender-alignment as hunters chase trophy bucks and let the antlerless walk; has this caused breeding issues? I look to further investigate this cause through mapping and historical data. 

[1]: Hanson, John Lawrence. “Deer Hunting’s ‘Good Old Days’ Are Now.” The Gazette, 5 Jan. 2023, www.thegazette.com/sports/these-are-the-good-old-days-of-deer-hunting/#:~:text=Iowa%20State%20professor%20emeritus%20James,was%20evident%20in%20the%20rules.

How has differential access to COVID-19 vaccines among neighborhoods in Omaha affected the overall health of these neighborhoods?

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the subsequent creation of vaccines for the virus, there have been disparities across the United States in the proportions of demographics that have received the initial vaccine and have followed up with boosters. According to the CDC, individuals from minority backgrounds were half as likely to receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine than white individuals were [1]. I would like to study data from the last 4 years to investigate if this trend has been apparent in the city of Omaha. I am interested in understanding if Omaha’s minority communities have not received the same degree of vaccination in comparison to white communities.

Additionally, it is important to put this investigation in context with access to health-related resources. For instance, pharmaceutical chains, such as Walgreens or CVS, have been moving out of minority areas across the US and establishing locations in white neighborhoods [2]. Observing the spatial locations of pharmacies, clinics, hospitals, etc. in Omaha over the recent years may offer insight into the disparities present in COVID-19 vaccination rates. By observing data on the vaccinations in particular areas of Omaha and viewing the locations (or changes of locations) of health resources in Omaha, some evidence in the form of unequal access to health care may be apparent. Lastly, this can be connected to an observation of COVID-19 incidents over the last 4 years. I am interested in finding if certain areas of Omaha were more susceptible to the illness based on the availability and accessibility of health materials and vaccines.

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/vaccine-equity.html
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/10/22/drugstore-close-pharmacy-deserts/
[3] https://www.douglascountyhealth.com/covid-19