This is a continuation of a historical series. To catch up... read these.
April 22, 1889 had been anticipated and planned for by many people across the United States. The Land Run of 1889 would open up the public domain land “unassigned lands” in Oklahoma for settlement. The land available in The Land Run of 1889 was a chance to “freely” obtain 160 acres of land. It ended up being a day of not only excitement, but confusion, fighting, disagreement, law-breaking, and confusion.
It has been estimated that 50,000 people were poised and waiting for the firing of the pistol at high noon. In truth, there were many that had sneaked into the area and were hiding, also waiting for the big moment when they could come out of hiding and pretend that they had crossed in legally at the appointed opening, “Sooners”. There were also some “legal Sooners”. Government employment had its perks. There were those that were already here in Oklahoma employed by the Federal Government that were allowed to claim their land stake.
The Santa Fe Railroad was already in place with its route directly through the heart of Oklahoma Indian Territory. It had been allowed to be built because neighboring states had convinced Congress that Indian Territory was a barrier to commerce and traffic across the United States without railroads crossing the Oklahoma Indian Territory. Railroad development in Oklahoma is a whole other blog though…
Many people today have the idea that the current boundary of Oklahoma was the gathering place for everyone wanting to rush in and claim land; that people poured into what is now the state of Oklahoma from our current boundaries… not so. There were 5 land runs in Oklahoma and parts of Oklahoma that were not settled in this way at all.. Again, that’s a whole different story.
The first land run into Oklahoma on April 22, 1889 did open the “unassigned lands”; a title made popular by a railroad lobbyist, Elias C. Boudinot. Many gathered to make the run, but they were not gathered at the current Oklahoma borders. Many of them had gotten permission to cross Indian territories and gather along the borders of the Unasssigned Lands. In fact, U S Troops led trains of settler wagons from Arkansas City and Caldwell across the Cherokee Outlet so they would be ready at the border of the Unassigned Lands, their “promised land”, when the opening gun fired. One account mentions that there had been a terrible rain storm. The Salt Fork of the Arkansas River was flooded, so the travelers tore boards from a nearby Santa Fe Railway station and used them to cover the the railroad bridge that spanned the river. The settlers then unhitched the teams, led the horses across the bridge and hand pulled the wagons across.
One way or another people got there and got ready.. Then the BIG BANG happened… no, not the beginning of earth BUT the beginning of the land run.
Stay tuned for the next installment…
Oklahoma history is rich with stories of the land runs. While today we do not have land runs per se; we do have many people wanting to move to Oklahoma and find that special piece of land that suits them... Integrity Real Estate Services is agressively seeking land listings. Do you have land that you want to sell in McCurtain County or Choctaw County? Call us, Judi and Don Barrett! I have some interesting ideas on marketing your land to find you the right buyer.
All images from Google Search for images labeled "for reuse". The first image is from the Encyclpedia Britannica's website. The second image originally from a government image storage, adapted with the red border by a wikimedia page.
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