Press Release
October 24, 2025
Contact: Julia Moser
Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-282-1889
[email protected]
okhistory.org/territorialmuseum
Oklahoma Black Homesteader Project to be Highlighted in Lecture at Oklahoma Territorial Museum
GUTHRIE, Okla. — On Wednesday, November 5, at 6 p.m., the Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library will welcome Dr. Kalenda Eaton of the University of Oklahoma for a lecture on Oklahoma Black homesteaders. She will discuss the Black Homesteaders Project and focus on understanding homesteading as a movement.
The Oklahoma Black Homesteader Project is a research and archival project focused on identifying, cataloging and mapping claimed federal lands in the Oklahoma Territory from 1889 to 1920. A significant part of the research focuses on the individuals who homesteaded and the communities they established in Oklahoma. This presentation will discuss migration and settlement in Logan, Kingfisher and Lincoln counties in the late 19th century and what geographical data can reveal about how people began to build community.
Dr. Kalenda Eaton is a professor in the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies at The University of Oklahoma. She is a humanities scholar whose research focuses on African American Western regional studies, intersections of Black literary studies and cultural history, and women’s studies.
The lecture is free to attend. The Oklahoma Territorial Museum is located at 406 E. Oklahoma Ave. in Guthrie. For more information, please call 405-282-1889.
The Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications, the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit okhistory.org.
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Editor’s Note: Photos of the Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library are available upon request.
