The Oklahoma Land Grab

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The largest land rush in history kicked off on 16th September, 1893 - on Oklahoma's Cherokee Strip. Tens of thousands of people—horseback riders, wagons, and even a passenger train—waited for a cannon’s boom to initiate a mad race for land.

The term "Boomer" became synonymous with those waiting for that cannon's boom to charge in, while "Sooners" were the sneaky folks who snuck into the land early to claim it before the rush began. Officers were tasked with clearing out the opportunistic Sooners, but it wasn’t an easy job. With everyone trying to stake their claims in chaos, tensions ran high, and skirmishes sometimes broke out between claimants, creating a dangerous situation for those trying to ‘play fair’ - and the Native American tribes who had already been relocated there once already.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Oklahoma, previously considered arid land unsuited for farming, had suddenly become a hot commodity; reveal what happened when fights for land turned ugly; and, as settlers carved out their fortunes, investigate how long it took for the Cherokee tribes to receive their payment….

Further Reading:

• ’CHEROKEE OUTLET OPENING’ (The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture): https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CH021

• ‘Cherokee Strip Land Rush - By Jay M. Price’ (Arcadia Publisher, 2006):

https://books.google.com/books/about/Cherokee_Strip_Land_Rush.html?id=ikXycrCcTvAC

• ’Cherokee Outlet Land Run’ (Olahoma Council Social Studies):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyhlU-Zt9YY&t=133s

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