The Oklahoma Land Runs: Myth or Mystery? Part 2

 

Oklahoma Land Openings Map
Used with permission from the Oklahoma Historical Society

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez



Thank you for joining us this month as we look into the history of the Oklahoma Land Runs.

Last month, we covered the history leading up to the allowance of white settlement in the Indian Territory by the US government, and of the first or the “Great Land Run”. This month, we are diving into several other of the Land Runs, as there were more than most people think.

After the success of the first Land Run, the federal government was pressured into opening more and more lands within the Indian Territory. Unfortunately, those lands were still in the hands of the tribes that were living there as part of their assignment proceeding the different conflicts, for example, the War Between The States, and the Red River War.

The US government, overlooking the existing treaties, opened the lands up for white settlement over the course of more than a decade, the first Land Run happening in 1889, the final one happening in 1901.

There was a set of five in 1891 which opened of the Shawnee lands, just to the east of the Unassigned Territory (which opened on April 22, 1889). The next four Land Runs, also taking place in 1891, the Shawnee lands became Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties, with Tecumseh and Chandler being their county seats, respectively.

The next Land Run was in 1892, the opening of the Comanche and Arapaho lands in the southwestern part of the state. This Land Run was important as many of the best plots of land that were opened for white settlement were given to the Indian Scouts that served with the army. Many of the scouts were able to take some of the more choice allotments of land as payment for their service to the Army.

   

"Boomers Camp, Arkansa City, Kansas. Waiting for the Strike to Open
May 1st, 1893"
Public Domain

The next and final Great Land Run was that of the Cherokee Outlet, or the Cherokee Strip, in 1893. This Land Run opened much of the Northwestern part of what is now the state of Oklahoma (minus the panhandle). This Land Run gave us towns such as Enid, Woodward, Seiling, Vici, Slap Out and Laverne.

This Land Run was, in some ways, more famous than the first, as it opened the mostly tall plains grassland, and the arid desert regions of the northwestern part of the state.

When most people think of Oklahoma, they think of the region that is in the north central part of the state, normally. This part of the state is empty prairie lands, as we like to call it “miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles.”

It was after the Land Run of the Kickapoo lands between the Shawnee lands and the Unassigned Territory in 1895, that the federal government determined that the problems that crop up with the large-scale Land Runs was too much trouble. So the large-scale land allotments were handled by sealed bid.

 

"Land Openings"
Used with permission from the
Oklahoma Historical Society

 
There were several sealed-bid allotments of land, to include the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation, the Wichita-Caddo Reservation, and the Big Pasture.

The final Land Run was in the town of Arcadia in the eastern part of Oklahoma County in 1901. It was allowing settlers to choose individual town plots within its district only. The town of Arcadia today has been annexed into Edmond and consists of several homes and one of the man-made lakes, Lake Arcadia.

Thank you for joining us this last couple of months as we looked into the history of the Land Runs of Oklahoma. If you are interesting in digging deeper in to the history of these historic events, please feel free to contact the Oklahoma Historical society, the regional and town Historical Societies, or preferably an older resident of the area you are inquiring about. Thank you, and have a blessed day!

Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Judge was born and raised in Little Axe, Oklahoma, the son of A.F. Veterans. Judge and Alanna love the history of the state and relish in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her second published story, part of a collaborative novella titled 18 Rebud Lane, came out March 2019. Alanna and Judge live with her parents in the Edmond area. They are currently collaborating on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Oklahoma.

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US Army in Oklahoma--A True Tale of Cowboys and Indians Part 3

Fort Gibson, 1870's Wikipedia, public domain

    

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez


Thank you for joining us this month in our discovery of the effects that the different branches of the U.S. military have had on the development of the state of Oklahoma. For the last two months, we have delved into the history of the US Army, up to the end of the War Between the States (WBtS).

This month, we cover the time period after the WBtS going to the land runs/ lotteries.

On the national level, the time period just after the WBtS is known as the reconstruction period. This period is a time of social change and military occupation, particularly in the south. In the Indian Territory, the tribes had split, one side for the United States, the other for the Confederate States.

In 1867, following numerous raids, the Department of the Interior, at the insistence of the newly formed states of Kansas and Nebraska, formed a series of treaties that created the Cheyenne-Arapaho and the Kiowa-Commanche reservations. This helped to frustrate the already closed-in feeling tribes. The plains tribes resisted the move to the reservations, and tensions increased. The army was tasked with being a peace keeping force in the territory. They protected not only the eastern tribes from the plains tribes, but also the white settlers that were moving through the area.

Tensions rose steadily, however, as not all tribes ascribed to the war-like ideals of the plains tribes. In 1874 war broke out in the conflict now known as the Red River War. In one of the first conflicts, Lieutenant Colonel Custer led a raid against Chief Black Kettle’s camp. Tragically, or rather ironically, Black Kettle was known as a “peace chief”.

The Red River War lasted through into 1875, ending in the “Sand Hill Fight” on April 6th 1875. In 1887, the Dawes Severalty Act ended the reservation system in the Indian Territory, and opened up the lands reserved for the tribes, thus leading to the Land Runs, which began in 1889.

There were 5 major land runs, and several smaller ones throughout the next 13 years. The 1st of the major land runs occurred on April 22nd 1889, where the “Unassigned Lands” were opened to settlement. This land run opened up what became Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan and Oklahoma counties. This is what is commonly referred to as the “Oklahoma Land Run”, however it was only the first in the series of them.

The 2nd major land run was in fact 3 smaller land runs occurring between September 22nd and 28th of 1891, and opened up the settlement of what eventually became Lincoln, Pottowatomie, and Seminole counties.

The 3rd was the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation lands, occurring in April 19, 1892, and opened up the lands that would become Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Washita, and Roger Mills counties.

The 4th was the Cherokee Outlet on April 19th 1893--also mistakenly referred to as the Cherokee Strip Land Run--which opened the lands of the entire Cherokee Outlet. This area ranged from essentially lands east of current day Enid, all the way to current day Woodward, thus opening close to 1/8th of what would become the state of Oklahoma.

The 5th and final major land run on May 23rd of 1895, was the opening of the Kickapoo lands, which opened the remainder of current-day eastern Oklahoma and western Pottowatomie counties. After this land run, a critical change was made and, other than several considerably smaller land runs, was the end of the “Land Run Experiment”, and was considered to be an inefficient way to distribute the land.

While it is commonly held that after the Kickapoo land run, the land was distributed by lottery, and bids, there was actually one more minor land run, which allocated land in the current town of Arcadia, Oklahoma. That land run occurred on August 8th 1901.

During each of these land runs, and the settlement directly afterwards, the U.S. Army was tasked with keeping the peace, as well as preventing the “Sooners” from being able to claim jump the most choice lands, and to help keep down theft of the lands for the claimants. Unfortunately, corruption ran a bit rampant, and there are many stories of not only Sooners, but also of claimants being wiped out by claim jumpers.

It was during this time frame that the U.S. Cavalry, and by extension the Army, held ultimate authority of law in the land. There were several U.S. Marshals in the territory, such as Bass Reeves, and Frank Dalton. When the cards were on the table, however, each of these marshals had the authority to call in the cavalry, to put down any insurrections, etc. if it was deemed necessary. Each of the towns had their own marshal, as well as many (like Oklahoma City, Edmond, Guthrie, Stillwater, and Norman) had their own police force enforcing the edicts of the city ordinances.

Join us next month as we explore the history of the U.S. Army, and its effects on the history of this grand state, known as Oklahoma during its statehood, and afterward.

Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Alanna loves the history of the state and relishes in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her first published story, part of a collaborative novella titled Legacy Letters, came out September 2016. Alanna lives with her husband and parents in the Edmond area. She is currently working on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Waterloo, Oklahoma. 
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The Cherokee Strip Land Run & Book Giveaway!

I was born and raised in Oklahoma, and I’ve always been interested in the land runs--one aspect of our state’s unique history. In case you’re not familiar with Oklahoma, much of the state was designated as Indian Territory in the later half of the nineteenth century. Over forty Indian tribes were eventually moved there because white settlers in other states and territories wanted their valuable land.

Once much of the West had been settled, people started looking at Oklahoma as one of their last chances to get free land. They pressured the government to open the Unassigned Lands--land that had been promised to certain tribes, but no Indians had settled on it. The government finally agreed, and President Benjamin Harrison signed the paperwork for what was later called Harrison’s Hoss Race.

And they're off!

On April 22, 1889, over two million acres of land was opened for settlement in Oklahoma’s first land run. The homesteads were 160 acres with much smaller town lots also available. Anybody twenty-one and older could ride—women, foreigners, and blacks included. The race began with the blast of cannon and gunfire and a cheer so loud it made ears ache. An instant stampeded ensued. In less than a few hours, all of the homesteads had been claimed, leaving many people disillusioned and unhappy because they didn’t get one. In the first book in my series, Gabriel’s Atonement, my hero and heroine ride in the 1889 land run, which led to the settlement of Guthrie, Oklahoma City, and several other towns. 

Hopeful settlers waiting in line to register for the land run

Joline’s Redemption, which released on November 1st, is the second book in my Land Rush Dreams series. It features the Cherokee Outlet aka Cherokee Strip land run, which was held on September 16, 1893. More than 100,000 hopeful settlers raced for 42,000 claims. I’m sure you can imagine the chaos of such an event. Lucky winners settled in sod homes and dugouts carved from the prairie while others lived in their covered wagons. The first winters were harsh as the land tested the endurance and character of its new inhabitants. Many of the settlers could not endure the harsh conditions, and after weeks or months, gave up their dream. But for those who stayed, hard times gave way to better days as crops flourished and communities, schools and churches rose from the wind-swept plains.

In celebration of autumn and my new release, I'm giving away a copy of Hometown Harvest Cook Book. Just leave a comment with your email address to be entered.

Joline's Redemption is finally available!

Joline has fallen as far as any woman can. She once had lofty dreams of love and luxury, but she made a series of dreadful decisions, leaving her bereft of all hope. Jo has a long list of secrets to keep and has to continually look over her shoulder, as the man she’s running from may show up anywhere, anytime.

Bestselling author Vickie McDonough grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She now lives out her dreams penning fictional romance stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West. Vickie is an award-winning author of 38 published books and novellas. Her novels include the fun and feisty Texas Boardinghouse Brides series, and End of the Trail, which was the OWFI 2013 Best Fiction Novel winner. Whispers on the Prairie was a Romantic Times Recommended Inspirational Book for July 2013. Song of the Prairie won the 2015 Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Her latest series, Land Rush Dreams, focuses on the Oklahoma land runs.