Want to impress your friends and stump your foes with some cool Land Run trivia knowledge? Look no further for some facts about Oklahoma City’s first days.
- President Benjamin Harrison signed a proclamation on March 23, 1889, that opened the Unassigned Lands of Indian Territory to settlement. The Oklahoma Land Run took place less than a month later on April 22, 1889.
- The Land Run opened up a 1.9-million-acre tract of unassigned land for eager citizens to settle.
- Cannons and pistols fired at precisely high noon on April 22, giving the go ahead for people to stake their claim on a tract of land. Those that participated in the mad dash were called “Boomers,” since they waited for the boom of the cannon to charge into the new territory.
- Soldiers were tasked with keeping the rowdy crowd in line, but a few sneaky citizens slipped through and crossed into Indian Territory before the sound of the gun. These people were labeled “Sooners,” which is the source of Oklahoma’s nickname “The Sooner State.”
- Veterans of the Land Run were known as “eighty-niners.”
- While Rome wasn’t built in a day, Oklahoma City sure was. From high noon to sundown, Oklahoma City added 10,000 residents to its streets, all residing in tent residences.
- The Land Run on April 22, 1889, was the first of seven land runs to take place in Oklahoma.
- Oklahoma has an official Land Run Song called The Oklahoma Run. It was written by an area professor to commemorate the explosive start to our upstart state. Many people who grew up in Oklahoma learned this song in elementary school. We suggest you memorize it and sing it spontaneously to all your friends.
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