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Southwest Oklahoma was something of a "no-man's land." For a long time, neither Texas or the United States seemed concerned with the area. Texas established Greer County in February 1860, but the organization of the county was interrupted by the Civil War. After the war, the legislature allowed its veterans to file claims in Greer County. Texas ranchers, who were already grazing cattle on the land, bought many of the claims.

The cattle drives after the Civil War had stirred interest in the area. As herds moved up the Western Trail, people became aware of Greer County. Dwindling "free" land elsewhere in the country increased settlement pressure. By the late 1880's, as the cattle trails moved westward and then finally disappeared altogether, there were small communities established in present-day Southwest Oklahoma.

Ranchers complained to the United States about the homesteaders in an attempt to get the settlers evicted from "Indian" land. Of course, the ranchers themselves did not believe Greer County was Indian land. When the United States--instead--reaffirmed its claim, Greer County fell into chaos. People refused to pay taxes; the Army moved to evict homesteaders who believed they lived in Texas (having bought their land from Texas), but the United States maintained were on public land; criminals questioned the right of Texas courts to try them.

With Greer County in question, the issue centered on the Red River. Was the North Fork the boundary? Was that the river referred to historically in various treaties? Or was the Prairie Dog (southern) branch the boundary?

The Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 established the boundary between the United States and Spain along the Red River. One of the references, a map by John Melish (1818), incorrectly designated a tributary of the Red River--the North Fork--as the main course. By 1845 when Texas joined the United States, the error was known. Still, Texas claimed the approximately 1.5 millions acres between the two rivers. But the controversy merely simmered. The area was sparsely populated (even by Indians), remote and not particularly desirable.

When in 1890 the United States sued Texas for possession of Greer County, the precedents for Texas' claim were outdated, ill-defined maps. Texas tried to use this to its advantage. The 100th Meridian was the assigned western boundary, yet old maps incorrectly placed the boundary nearer the 99th. Rather than concede the inaccuracy of the maps, Texas simply maintained the boundary should be farther east. The United States insisted on the true 100th, essentially marked by 1860, although this was not officially accepted by all parties until 1930. Of course, if the western boundary had been as Texas would have liked it, Greer County would have fallen squarely into its domain (regardless of the southern boundary).

In 1896, the United States Supreme Court ruled against Texas: Greer County was public land. Within months, Congress added Greer County to Oklahoma Territory.

Last reviewed: 2004-Jan-21