Oklahoma - April 22, 1889

In one day, April 22, 1889, over 60,000 settlers moved into Indian Territory Oklahoma,  It was the only extensive area remaining on the Plains that was suitable for farming.  Prior to 1889 the Oklahoma Territory had been part of the great Indian reserve occupied by the Five Civilized Tribes that reached from the Canadian border all the way to Texas.  It was deemed too remote to interest white settlers and was protected by treaty in 1866, and was actually patrolled to keep whites out.

After years of this agitated situation, April 22 was chosen as the date when the whites would take the "Unassigned Lands."  At noon a bugle signaled thousands to cross the prairie by horse, wagon, bicycle, trains and even on foot.  There wasn't enough land for everyone, so early arrivals (called "Sooners") prepared to defend their claims with rifles if necessary.

In the 1890s other tracts of land were opened, including the Cherokee Strip.  Eventually by 1907, Oklahoma and Indian Territory joined to become the 46th state of Oklahoma with a population of a million and a half people. 

The first capital of the new state was Guthrie, Oklahoma.   At the time of the land rush in 1889, Guthrie consisted of a water tank, a Santa Fee depot, a Wells Fargo Express station, and a land office.  By the time the sun set on that first day of April 22nd, ten thousands people had staked claims with tents everywhere in the small town.  Within a day a city council and mayor had been elected, and within a week a school, a bank, and a newspaper (the Get-Up) were established.  Guthrie continued as the capital until 1910 when Oklahoma City, 30 miles to the south was voted the new capital of Oklahoma.

Not  before or since April 22, 1889 has
there been another influx of so many settlers at one time.  It stands as the greatest one-time migration in the nations history, even greater than the California Gold Rush.

Next time...Towns Built in a Day
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On this Day in Pioneer History: "On November 5, 1895, George Selden wins U.S. Patent No. 549,160 for an “improved road engine” powered by a “liquid-hydrocarbon engine of the compression type.” With that, as far as the government was concerned, George Selden had invented the first gas powered car–though he had never built a single one.