Waiting for the opening of the Cherokee Strip

The Oklahoma Land Race or the Cherokee Strip Land Run was a land run or land rush that took place on September 16, 1893.

The land concerned was a 58 mile (93 km) wide strip running for 225 miles (362 km) between southern Kansas and Oklahoma Territory, around 34,000 km². The Oklahoma Territory had been opened for settlement in the 1880s but the strip remained the possession of the Cherokee people. The strip, named the Cherokee Outlet, had been granted to them in 1828 as a route to the Indian Territories, other tribes took parts of the strip from the 1860s. After the Civil War a number of cattle trails, including the Chisholm Trail, were driven across the strip, linking Texas to the demanding eastern markets. In the 1880s the Strip itself was leased to a cattle farming association.

Widespread greed for the land led to a law banning cattle farming, the Cherokee then sold the land to the government, opening it up for homesteaders. The strip was divided into 42,000 claims, available to the first person, with a certificate, to put foot and stake a claim in them.

The Oklahoma Land Race

Building up to the date of September 16, potential settlers began arriving on all four borders of the territory, especially the 165 mile (266 km) long Kansas border. Around 100,000 people had gathered, up to 30,000 of them around Arkansas City. Most of the people were on horseback although there were also wagons, carts and special train services.

The borders were guarded by U.S. soldiers up to noon when the race was begun. Over the next few hours people raced recklessly across the land to secure the prime claims, crash or be disappointed.