Land Run :a Historical Perspective
From the Historical Perspective, an attempt at an objective interpretation of the few facts as the world knows them to be, the Oklahoma Land Rush was the opening of the Unassigned Lands for settlement. Acting on the very recently passed Indian Appropriation Bill, with the all-important Springer Amendment attached, which provided for the opening of the Unassigned Lands, President Benjamin Harris, on March 23, 1889, signed a proclamation that would open some 2 million acres of former Indian land to settlers. Stan Hoig of the Oklahoma Historical Society explains that settlement was based on the Homestead Act of 1862 in which “a legal settler could claim 160 acres of public land, and those who lived on and improved the claim for five years could receive title”(Hoig).
The land was centrally located in Oklahoma Territory, completely surrounded by native and relocated Indian territories. In a country growing increasingly short on open land, the Unassigned Lands were considered by many to be the most desirable unallocated land remaining in all the West.
President Harris' proclamation was a huge win for settlers and groups like the Boomers, small enclaves of homesteaders who for years had lobbied for the opening of the Oklahoma District. Their wait was all but over. The land run was scheduled for April 22, a mere thirty-one days after the President’s initial proclamation. Hordes of anxious settlers amassed on the Kansas border. Wagons pushed in from the Texas panhandle. A significant number of homesteaders, indeed, pushed past the borders and into the territory before the run's start, attempting to stake an early claim. These illegal settlers were called Sooners.
For the rest of the estimated 50,000 land hungry settlers, Eighty-niners as they are called, their dreams would be based on the outcome of a race. A bugle blast and the wave of a flag sent the precession of wagons, horses, men, and even some brave women and children into frenzied flight across the plain staking claims to land and lots. Many women stayed behind the line and watched their husbands compete for land, while others were charged with "holding down" the newly staked claim while men went and registered their claim at the land office. Established railway stations in the area served as the basis for new towns, towns like Guthrie, Edmond, and Norman, empty space turned into bustling towns in a matter of hours.
Of course, there were disputes over claims, over who staked first, or who cheated across the boundary early. But largely the Land Run dispersed an unused area to land hungry settlers, and set the stage for statehood in 1907.
The land was centrally located in Oklahoma Territory, completely surrounded by native and relocated Indian territories. In a country growing increasingly short on open land, the Unassigned Lands were considered by many to be the most desirable unallocated land remaining in all the West.
President Harris' proclamation was a huge win for settlers and groups like the Boomers, small enclaves of homesteaders who for years had lobbied for the opening of the Oklahoma District. Their wait was all but over. The land run was scheduled for April 22, a mere thirty-one days after the President’s initial proclamation. Hordes of anxious settlers amassed on the Kansas border. Wagons pushed in from the Texas panhandle. A significant number of homesteaders, indeed, pushed past the borders and into the territory before the run's start, attempting to stake an early claim. These illegal settlers were called Sooners.
For the rest of the estimated 50,000 land hungry settlers, Eighty-niners as they are called, their dreams would be based on the outcome of a race. A bugle blast and the wave of a flag sent the precession of wagons, horses, men, and even some brave women and children into frenzied flight across the plain staking claims to land and lots. Many women stayed behind the line and watched their husbands compete for land, while others were charged with "holding down" the newly staked claim while men went and registered their claim at the land office. Established railway stations in the area served as the basis for new towns, towns like Guthrie, Edmond, and Norman, empty space turned into bustling towns in a matter of hours.
Of course, there were disputes over claims, over who staked first, or who cheated across the boundary early. But largely the Land Run dispersed an unused area to land hungry settlers, and set the stage for statehood in 1907.