Oklahoma Journeys
Week of September 13, 2008
Cherokee Strip Land Run, September 16, 1893
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When you mention land runs, everyone thinks of the first land run, the one in 1889 that opened what is today Oklahoma City. Actually there were five land runs, a land lottery, a land auction, and a Supreme Court decision that combined created what is today the state of Oklahoma. The land run of 1893 actually opened more land for settlement than the one in 1889. That’s the story on Oklahoma Journeys from the Oklahoma History Center.
From the Oklahoma History Center, this is Oklahoma Journeys. I’m Michael Dean.
In 1828 and 1835, the Federal Government granted seven million acres of land to the Cherokee Nation. The United States government guaranteed to the Cherokee that this land would be a perpetual outlet west for tribal hunting grounds that measured 58 miles wide and extending 220 miles along the northern border. After the Civil War, because part of the Cherokee Nation had supported and fought for the Confederacy, the federal government demanded a new treaty. They reduced the original reservation lands and permitted so-called "friendly tribes" to be moved into the eastern end of the Outlet.
With the start of the cattle drives following the Civil War the Cherokee used their western land to make a profit. The cattlemen wanted to fatten their cattle on the rich grasses before taking them to railheads in Kansas so they leased land from the Cherokee. Land hungry settlers viewed the cattlemen's use of this area as a waste of fertile farmland and pressured the government to purchase the Cherokee land. Congress eventually paid more than 8 and half million dollars or about $1.40 per acre and announced the opening of the Outlet to homesteaders. In addition, surplus Pawnee and Tonkawa lands were also opened at the same time. President Grover Cleveland designated September 16, 1893, as the date for the run for the 6 million acres.
On the day of the run, it was hot and dusty. Dust, whipped by wind, and thousands of feet, made it unbearable. To add to the misery, soldiers were doing their best to keep order, to see that no one "jumped the gun." The run was to begin only when troopers fired their pistols at high noon. Regardless, 100,000 land hungry persons gathered for the land run into the Cherokee Outlet by horse, train, wagon, and even on foot. Each hoped to claim the best farmland or town lot of the over-40,000 quarter sections.
Finally, at noon September 16, 1893, a shot rang out and more than 100,000 determined settlers raced for 42,000 claims. By sunset, farms were being established, and the cities of Enid, Perry, Alva, and Woodward had risen out of what had been virgin prairie the day before. There were endless lines at federal land offices and more losers than winners.The Cherokee Strip Land Run was a tumultuous finale to what many have called the last American frontier.
The only remaining sod house from that land run is now a museum owned by the Oklahoma Historical Society, located in Aline. It is open Tuesday thru Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 to 5 pm. In addition, the Oklahoma Historical Society is building a new Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid and operates the Cherokee Strip Museum in Perry.
The Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City features a large exhibit on the land runs including an actual wagon that made both major land runs, the 1889 run and the ‘93 run. Oklahoma Journeys is a production of the Oklahoma History Center, dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing our state’s past. I’m Michael Dean.