Land run
Encyclopedia
Land run usually refers to an historical event in which previously restricted land of the United States
was opened for homesteading
on a first arrival basis. Some newly opened lands were sold first-come, sold by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run. The settlers, no matter how they acquired occupancy, purchased the land from the United States Land Office
. For former Indian lands, the Land Office distributed the sales funds to the various tribal entities, according to previously negotiated terms. The Oklahoma Land Run of 1889
was the most prominent of the land runs, although there were several others, as enumerated below.
Seven land runs took place in Oklahoma
:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was opened for homesteading
Homesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
on a first arrival basis. Some newly opened lands were sold first-come, sold by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run. The settlers, no matter how they acquired occupancy, purchased the land from the United States Land Office
General Land Office
The General Land Office was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury...
. For former Indian lands, the Land Office distributed the sales funds to the various tribal entities, according to previously negotiated terms. The Oklahoma Land Run of 1889
Land Run of 1889
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands and included all or part of the 2005 modern day Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne counties of the U.S. state of Oklahoma...
was the most prominent of the land runs, although there were several others, as enumerated below.
Seven land runs took place in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
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- April 22, 1889Land Run of 1889The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands and included all or part of the 2005 modern day Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne counties of the U.S. state of Oklahoma...
: Land run of 1889 took place at high noon and involved the settlement of the Unassigned LandsUnassigned LandsUnassigned Lands, or Oklahoma, were in the center of the lands ceded to the United States by the Creek and Seminole Indians following the Civil War and on which no other tribes had been settled...
(most of modern day CanadianCanadian County, OklahomaCanadian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 115,541. Its county seat is El Reno. Canadian County is also part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area. Canadian County is named for the Canadian River.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, ClevelandCleveland County, OklahomaCleveland County is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 255,755 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Norman. Cleveland County is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, KingfisherKingfisher County, OklahomaKingfisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 14,384. Its county seat is Kingfisher.-History:...
, LoganLogan County, OklahomaLogan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population as of 2009 was 39,301. Its county seat is Guthrie. Logan County is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, OklahomaOklahoma County, OklahomaOklahoma County is a county located in the central partof the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 718,633 at the 2010 census. The county seat and principal city is Oklahoma City...
, and PaynePayne County, OklahomaPayne County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population as of 2010 was 77,350. Its county seat is Stillwater, and the county is named for Capt. David L. Payne...
counties). - September 22, 1891Land Run of 1891The Land Run of 1891 was a set of horse races to settle land acquired by the federal government through the opening of several small Indian reservations in Oklahoma Territory. The race involved approximately 20,000 homesteaders, who gathered to stake their claims on 6097 plots of former...
: Land run to settle IowaIowa tribeThe Iowa , also known as the Báxoje, are a Native American Siouan people. Today they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska....
, Sac and FoxSac and Fox NationThe Sac and Fox Nation is the largest of three federally recognized tribes of Sac and Meskwaki Native Americans. They are located in Oklahoma and are predominantly Sac....
, PotawatomiPotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
, and Shawnee lands. - September 23, 1891: Land run to settle TecumsehTecumseh, OklahomaTecumseh is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,457 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Tecumseh is located at ....
, the pre-designated location of the county seatCounty seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of County B, later renamed as Pottawatomie CountyPottawatomie County, OklahomaPottawatomie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 65,521 as of the 2000 census. Its county seat is Shawnee...
. - September 28, 1891: Land run to settle ChandlerChandler, OklahomaChandler is a city in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,842 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lincoln County and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area.Chandler is located east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on U.S...
, the pre-designated location of the county seat of County A, later renamed as Lincoln CountyLincoln County, OklahomaLincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population as of 2010 was 34,273. It is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area.Its county seat is Chandler....
. - April 19, 1892Land Run of 1892The Land Run of 1892 was the opening of the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation to settlement in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. One of seven in Oklahoma, it occurred on April 19, 1892, and opened up land that would become Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Washita, and Rogers Mills counties...
: Land run to settle the CheyenneCheyenneCheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
and ArapahoArapahoThe Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
lands. - September 16, 1893Land Run of 1893The Land Run of 1893, also known as the Cherokee Strip Land Run, marked the opening of the Cherokee Outlet to the public. The run happened on September 16, 1893 at noon with more than 100,000 participants hoping to claim land. The land offices for the run were set up in Perry, Enid, Woodward, and...
: Cherokee StripCherokee OutletThe Cherokee Outlet, often mistakenly referred to as the Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma, in the United States. It was a sixty-mile wide strip of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between the 96th and 100th meridians. It was about 225 miles long and in 1891...
Land Run. The Run of the Cherokee Strip opened nearly 7,000,000 acres (28,000 km²) to settlement on September 16, 1893. The land was purchased from the CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
s for $7,000,000. It was largest land run in United States history. The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage CenterCherokee Strip Regional Heritage CenterThe Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center museum at the eastern edge of Enid, Oklahoma focuses on the history and culture of the Cherokee Outlet and the Land Run of September, 16, 1893...
museum at the eastern edge of Enid, OklahomaEnid, OklahomaEnid is a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. In 2010, the population was 49,379, making it the ninth largest city in Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, and is named after Enid, a...
commemorates this event. - May 23, 1895Land Run of 1895The Land Run of 1895 was the smallest and last land run in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It came about with an agreement between the Kickapoo Indians and the federal government that gave individual Kickapoos . The federal government purchased the remaining and opened them up to settlers.The land run...
: Land run to settle the Kickapoo lands.
- April 22, 1889
Legacy
- The 1889 and 1893 Oklahoma land runs were portrayed in Edna FerberEdna FerberEdna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big , Show Boat , and Giant .-Early years:Ferber was born August 15, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan,...
's 1929 novel, CimarronCimarronCimarron is the title of a novel published by popular historical fiction author Edna Ferber in 1929. The book was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1931 through RKO Pictures. In 1960, the story was again adapted for the screen to meager success by MGM...
, as well as films based on the novel.
- The Oklahoma land runs were portrayed in the movie Far and AwayFar and AwayFar and Away is a 1992 adventure-drama-romance film directed by Ron Howard from a script by Howard and Bob Dolman, and stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Cinematography by Mikael Salomon, with a music score by John Williams...
(1992), directed by Ron HowardRon HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
.
- In honor of Oklahoma's Centennial of statehood, sculptor Paul Moore won the commission for the Oklahoma Centennial Land Run Monument. As Moore completed elements of the 47-piece monument, such as horses and riders, wagons and horse teams, dogs, and others, they were installed in lower Bricktown, Oklahoma City. When completed, the monument will cover approximately 365 feet (111.3 m), making it overall one of the largest bronze sculptures in the world.
External links
- Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 (Cornell University)
- "Land Run Monument" photos, Oklahoma City Official Website