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Tom Berry: The Hereford Rancher Who Governed South Dakota Through the Depression

A Nebraska-born homesteader turned Hereford rancher, Tom Berry carried a cattleman's practicality into the governor's office during the Great Depression.

Who was Tom Berry, the cattleman who became governor?

Thomas Matthew Berry, known as Tom, was born on April 23, 1879, in Paddock, Holt County, Nebraska, and went to public school in nearby O'Neill. At 18 he crossed into South Dakota, which is where the rest of his working life played out: first as a homesteader, then as one of the larger stockmen in the southwestern part of the state, and finally as its Democratic governor.

His story is a useful one for anyone trying to understand how western cattlemen ended up in public office. The documented record shows him coming to politics from a homestead claim, a Hereford herd and years of dealing with grass and credit, and the offices he held reflect that background.

From homestead claim to a 30,000-acre Hereford ranch

According to the biography summarized on Wikipedia, Berry moved to South Dakota in 1897 and homesteaded in Gregory County. He later moved to Todd County and finally settled in Mellette County, south of Belvidere. The National Governors Association biography confirms the same progression of Gregory, Todd and Mellette counties and notes that he raised cattle there.

By the time the ranch was fully built, it covered roughly 30,000 acres and carried Hereford cattle and saddle horses, as reported in the Wikipedia biography of Tom Berry. The sources do not give herd sizes, brand names or sale figures, so the scale of the cattle business is best described by the acreage alone. Moving between three counties also shows a pattern common on the northern plains: a first claim was rarely the last, and ranchers consolidated land step by step.

Legislature, Custer State Park and the road to the governorship

Berry's first elected office came late. He served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1925 to 1931, which the National Governors Association describes as three terms. He also sat on the Custer State Park Board, a state body that put a working rancher in the conversation about public land.

In 1932 he ran for governor as a Democrat and defeated the incumbent, Warren Green. He took office on January 3, 1933, during the Great Depression.

What did Governor Berry do between 1933 and 1937?

Berry served as the 14th governor of South Dakota, winning re-election in 1934. The National Governors Association profile credits him with securing federal aid, serving as Federal Relief Administrator for the state in 1935 and 1936, and reducing the state debt.

He twice called the legislature into special session. One session legalized 3.2 percent beer. The other enacted unemployment insurance. During his administration the state property tax was abolished and replaced with a gross income tax, which was itself later replaced by a state sales tax. The sources describe these as the major structural changes of his tenure and show that the tax shift went through more than one form before it settled.

Why Berry lost three statewide races

Berry ran for a third term in 1936 and lost to Leslie Jensen. In 1938 he won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate over interim Senator Herbert Hitchcock but lost the general election to Chan Gurney. In 1942 he beat incumbent Senator William J. Bulow in the primary and then lost the general election to Harlan J. Bushfield. That ended his elective career.

The sources record the results but not the reasons, so it would be a mistake to read motives into them. What the record does show is persistence: three statewide races after his first win as governor, and two primary wins over sitting or appointed senators.

The Key to Berry's Success

Berry's path from a Nebraska-born homesteader to a statewide officeholder rested on a few things that show up repeatedly in the documented record. None of them required inherited wealth or a famous brand.

It also had limits. He lost his bid for a third term, lost two Senate races, and the tax system he helped create was restructured again after his time in office.

  • He built land in stages, moving from a Gregory County homestead to Todd County and then to a Mellette County ranch of about 30,000 acres.
  • He concentrated on Hereford cattle and saddle horses, a combination that suited open range work and local demand.
  • He took on local public service first, with three House terms and a seat on the Custer State Park Board, before running statewide.
  • He used federal programs rather than resisting them, serving as Federal Relief Administrator during the Depression.
  • He accepted structural change in state finance, replacing the property tax with a gross income tax and later a sales tax.
  • He stayed in public work after defeat, directing the Farm Credit Administration office in Omaha from 1942 to 1947.

Cowboys of 1902 and life after politics

The NGA profile notes that Berry served as president of the Cowboys of 1902, an association of riders who took part in the last major roundup on the prairies of western South Dakota. The detail matters because it shows where he placed himself. Even as a governor and federal credit administrator he kept an identity as a working range hand.

From 1942 to 1947 he led the Omaha district of the Farm Credit Administration, an agency that handled agricultural lending. He then retired to Rapid City, where he died on October 30, 1951, at age 72.

Honors and legacy

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted Berry into its Hall of Great Westerners in 1962, and its Hall of Great Westerners entry for Berry lists him among the people who shaped the American West. One museum page uses a different middle name, Jefferson, while the NGA and Wikipedia say Matthew, so researchers should expect that inconsistency.

For readers who want the working side of the story, farm.FM keeps a ranching section with current cattle and range coverage, and a farm.FM story about South Dakota ranch history gives another window on the country Berry worked.

Timeline

  1. 1879Born April 23 in Paddock, Holt County, Nebraska
  2. 1897Moves to South Dakota and homesteads in Gregory County
  3. 1925Begins three terms in the South Dakota House of Representatives
  4. 1932Defeats Governor Warren Green in the general election
  5. 1933Takes office as the 14th governor of South Dakota on January 3
  6. 1934Re-elected governor
  7. 1936Loses third-term bid to Leslie Jensen
  8. 1942Wins Senate primary but loses general election; begins Farm Credit Administration post in Omaha
  9. 1951Dies October 30 in Rapid City at age 72

Frequently asked questions

Who was Tom Berry?

Tom Berry (1879 to 1951) was a Hereford and saddle horse rancher from Mellette County, South Dakota, who served three terms in the state House and then as the 14th governor of South Dakota from 1933 to 1937.

How big was Tom Berry's ranch?

Wikipedia reports that Berry built a ranch of about 30,000 acres in Mellette County, south of Belvidere, South Dakota, raising Hereford cattle and saddle horses. The sources reviewed do not give herd sizes.

What is Tom Berry known for as governor?

He secured federal relief aid during the Depression, called special sessions that legalized 3.2 percent beer and enacted unemployment insurance, and presided over replacing the state property tax with a gross income tax.

When was Tom Berry inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners?

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted Tom Berry into its Hall of Great Westerners in 1962, eleven years after his death in Rapid City.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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