Dakota Datebook: The Coal Lands Act of 1909 Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Prairie Public

On this date in 1909, the Golden Valley Chronicle alerted readers to a bill pending in Congress that would deny mineral rights to homesteaders. The Coal Lands Act was introduced by North Dakota Congressman Thomas Marshall. It would give homesteaders title to the surface land while denying them mineral rights.

The bill was prompted by the coal famine that began with a strike by coal workers in 1902. People died over the winter from a lack of coal to heat their homes. Panic set in. Even after the strike was settled, people were afraid that the supply of coal would run out.

In 1906 Teddy Roosevelt withdrew 64 million acres of land from the Homestead Act thought to contain coal. Homesteaders who had worked the land in good faith could lose out. They would have to prove that their homestead was not valuable for coal to keep the land. Needless to say, homesteaders were outraged. Congress worked for the next three years to find a compromise.

Read more at: https://news.prairiepublic.org/post/coal-lands-act-1909