Beaver County's unique history is reflected in the five flags that once flew as claim to the area, as well as in the fact that for 70 years the land between the 100th and 103rd meridians and between 36°30' and the 37th parallels belonged to no territory, state, or nation—hence the name "No Man's Land." Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado traveled through the west central part of the area on his return to Mexico from his hunt for the Seven Cities of Cibola. Later ranchers, cattle, and freight trails brought permanent settlements. In 1903, homesteaders, sometimes called "punkin rollers," began to stake claims, build sod houses, and become permanent residents long before there was any law and order, since no government existed.