Oklahoma Land Research Articles

Hugh Lenox Scott, 1853–1934: Reluctant Warrior by Armand S. La Potin

Reviewed by: Hugh Lenox Scott, 1853–1934: Reluctant Warrior by Armand S. La Potin James Bailey Blackshear Hugh Lenox Scott, 1853–1934: Reluctant Warrior. By Armand S. La Potin. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2021. Pp. 228. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) In this biography, historian Armand S. La Potin details the life of a consummate military man of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Hugh Lenox Scott was born in Kentucky in the middle of the nineteenth century. His father, an educator and minister, died when he was eight. His mother then moved the family to New Jersey, where his grandfather, principal of the Princeton Theological Seminary, helped to shape Scott’s early years. La Potin points out that Scott’s growing up within this literate and well-connected family paid many dividends. Using numerous family letters, military correspondence, and government records, La Potin chronicles Scott’s rise from West Point cadet to military governor of the Sulu Archipelago during the U.S. occupation of the Philippines. The author also details Scott’s time in 1870s Dakota Territory, his interactions with Fort Sill Comanches, and his experiences as an officer during the Spanish-American War. The last half of the book looks at his military service during the twentieth century. Under Woodrow Wilson, Scott served as both acting secretary of war and army chief of staff. In the process of covering this soldier’s career, La Potin details Scott’s role in every major event in which the U.S. military was involved between 1877 and 1918. At the same time, as the subtitle indicates, this is less a history of tactics and battles than of one man’s earnest attempt at diplomacy and relationship-building. In clear narrative style, La Potin begins by following Scott away from West Point to the northern Great Plains. His posting to the Seventh Cavalry occurred soon after Custer’s defeat at the Little Big Horn. Under Colonel Nelson Miles, he was involved in the campaigns to reign in the remaining Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho who refused to live on reservations. Here, La Potin puts in place the theme that runs throughout the work: no matter what period or event, Scott was always interested in avoiding conflict and promoting peace among the peoples he was sent subjugate. At the same time, the author is quick to point out the contradictory challenges involved in such an undertaking. Another thread throughout is how Scott’s powerful East Coast connections helped to facilitate his rise within the army hierarchy. This, combined with his own ability to connect with his peers as well as the different cultures with which he came into contact helps illustrate his rise from frontier diplomat to military administrator. One of Scott’s longest postings was to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. There, the defeated Comanche and Kiowa held many of the same grievances and presented the same challenges that he had had to work through with the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Nez Percé from his earlier posts. While in Indian [End Page 133] Territory, he dealt with the implementation of the Dawes Act, corrupt government agents, greedy merchants, Chiricahua Apache resettlement, and the Oklahoma Land Run. Land issues and Scott’s interactions with Quanah Parker are detailed here, as are his constant battles with local and national politicians, federal bureaucrats, and War Department supervisors. Later chapters on the Spanish American War highlight Scott’s time as Leonard Wood’s chief of staff and adjutant general. His relationship with the irascible Wood is expertly detailed, as is his subsequent role as the military governor of the Sulu Archipelago. Here, among a majority Muslim population, his skills as a negotiator are put to task. La Potin does not shy from the obvious. Scott’s attempts to ingratiate himself within a variety of subjugated societies reveals that his empathetic nature and efforts to do good were shot through with a paternalism that impacted every decision he made, whether interacting with the Sioux or the Moros. Such insight is found throughout this book. While reading this biography I could not help but liken Hugh Lennox Scott to the fictional Forrest Gump. From Red Cloud to Teddy Roosevelt, Quanah...

City on a Hill: Urban Idealism in America from the Puritans to the Present

City on a Hill: Urban Idealism in America from the Puritans to the Present

1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City by Michael J. Hightower

Reviewed by: 1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City by Michael J. Hightower Douglas A. Hurt 1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City. By Michael J. Hightower. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2018. Pp. xvi, 328. $24.95, ISBN 978-0-8061-6070-2.) The land runs and lotteries that brought thousands of Euro-American settlers into Oklahoma Territory remain in the collective memory of the state’s residents. From monuments and memorials to the use of the term Sooners (individuals who attempted to illegally claim land before the official opening) as the University of Oklahoma’s nickname to yearly elementary school reenactments of land runs, the unique settlement history of Oklahoma is frequently celebrated. Michael J. Hightower adds to our understanding of this period in 1889: The Boomer Movement, the Land Run, and Early Oklahoma City, an account of the decades-long push to open the central part of the state to non-Native settlement that resulted in the Unassigned Lands run and a period of rapid urbanization at the townsite that became Oklahoma City. Hightower divides 1889 into three parts. He first focuses on boomer (advocates for the non-Native settlement of Oklahoma) designs to settle Indian Territory in the 1870s and 1880s, including more than a dozen significant expeditions to homestead in Oklahoma without federal approval. The second [End Page 196] section relates events immediately surrounding the April 22, 1889, Unassigned Lands run that resulted in tens of thousands of people claiming land in central Oklahoma. Finally, Hightower chronicles the urban development of Oklahoma City that followed the run, as the location quickly evolved from a railroad stop into an upstart city. Throughout the book, Hightower links the opening of Oklahoma to non-Native populations to the larger context of American Gilded Age economic inequalities and a political environment that consistently favored the connected few over the majority of less fortunate Americans. Various geopolitical actors, such as the cattle industry, railroad corporations, American Indians, state legislatures, federal government officials, and the boomer movement led by David L. Payne and William L. Couch, played a role in facilitating, or hindering, settlement of public lands in central Oklahoma. Various sources, including archival material from multiple facilities and period newspapers, are used to build Hightower’s historical narrative. Unlike other popular representations of Oklahoma land runs, which focus on rural settlement and agricultural homesteading in the state, Hightower concentrates on townsite development and the rapid evolution of cities. Using Oklahoma City as a case study, he outlines the chaotic political environment after the land run, frequent disputes over property rights, the widespread violence and lawlessness in the city, contacts with nearby Native people, and the competition with Guthrie, Oklahoma, over which town would be the territorial (and later state) capital. The roles of early Oklahoma City leaders like Charles F. Colcord, Henry Overholser, and Angelo C. Scott in shaping the urban area are highlighted. Frequent use of historical images of early Oklahoma scenes and individuals adds to Hightower’s written descriptions. On multiple occasions, historical events are linked to modern locations, businesses, and landmarks in and around Oklahoma City. However, the one original map in the book is not detailed enough to orient readers, particularly those who are unfamiliar with the modern metropolitan area, to these places. A large-scale map of Oklahoma City would have enhanced the written analysis in 1889. Otherwise, 1889 is a welcome addition to the existing literature on the historical development of Oklahoma. Written in an accessible and engaging style, the book will be useful in undergraduate and graduate seminars and should be well received by nonacademics wishing to better understand the political and economic context of opening Oklahoma to non-Native people. Hightower’s account of the contested settlement of the Unassigned Lands within the larger political and economic context of the Gilded Age offers new interpretations of the history of Oklahoma. Douglas A. Hurt University of Missouri Copyright © 2020 The Southern Historical Association

How many rushed during the Oklahoma land openings?

At noon on April 22, 1889, a gunshot on the border of what was then called the Unassigned Lands of the Indian Territory launched the first of six well-defined land giveaways in what is now the state of Oklahoma. Contemporary newspaper and eyewitness accounts described the prairie starting line as awash in the largest gathering in the West to that date, with a subsequent massive rush, followed by the disappointment of many who were unable to make a claim. Similar outcomes were reported at the other openings, and these reports have been repeated and accepted in popular culture and the academic literature. Using recently digitized BLM land grant records, data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture, and the 1890 Oklahoma Territorial Census, we re-examine the land openings and show that the historical accounts greatly overstate the number of people actually rushing for lands.

Rationing by racing and the Oklahoma land rushes

AbstractYoram Barzel was always aware that competition is ubiquitous and takes many forms, and he was among the first to analyze settings where individuals compete on the basis of time, rather than price. This paper applies his insights to study the Oklahoma land rushes, where thousands of individuals raced to establish property rights to land. A simple modification of Barzel's analysis generates a model of rationing by racing, and we test its predictions using new data on the timing and location of over 73,000 homestead claims within the five distinct land rushes and one lottery. We find that increases in land quality or decreases in the cost of racing generate corresponding increases in the equilibrium speed, implying that potential rents are dissipated by investments in speed. The analysis highlights the lasting significance of Barzel's insights regarding non-price competition.

1889 Oklahoma Land Run: The Settlement of Payne County

In this article, we examine the demographic characteristics of the non-Native American settlers in Payne County, Oklahoma, using the 1890 Territorial Census, which includes information on gender, household size and composition, and birth region. For comparison, we use census data from the 1880 Midwest census region to examine whether the household characteristics of the Payne County settlers were unique or representative of Midwestern families from which they emigrated. We find that US-born individuals were more likely to participate in the land run, but that the number and age of children were not significantly different from the Midwestern region.

Environmental Markets: A Property Rights Approach, by Terry L.Anderson and Gary D.Libecap. Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2014, pp. 240, ISBN: 978 0 5212 7965 9, AUD$ 37.59 (paperback) AUD$ 94.03 (hardcover).

Environmental Markets: A Property Rights Approach, by Terry L.Anderson and Gary D.Libecap. Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2014, pp. 240, ISBN: 978 0 5212 7965 9, AUD$ 37.59 (paperback) AUD$ 94.03 (hardcover).

Agricultural, recreational and urban influences on agricultural land prices

PurposeThis paper aims to determine the effects of agricultural, recreational and urban variables on Oklahoma land prices.Design/methodology/approachAn econometric model is estimated using price of agricultural land parcels as the dependent variable and independent variables representing agricultural, recreational and urban uses. Recreational variables include county‐level recreational income from Agricultural Census data as well as deer harvest for each county. Urban variables are functions of population and income for each county. The agricultural variables include rainfall as well as crop returns for cropland and cattle prices for pasture.FindingsAgricultural variables are the most important, followed by urban and then recreational variables. Transaction prices are higher than commonly used land‐value survey data. The major recreational variable is deer harvest, which is more important in small tracts. The value of pasture is now greater than cropland. Small tract sizes receive substantial premiums.Research limitations/implicationsAgriculture is still an important part of the Oklahoma economy, so the findings might differ in more densely populated states. As with most econometric models, there are possible biases due to errors in measurement or missing explanatory variables.Practical implicationsThe paper provides information that could be used by those wanting to estimate land value or wanting to manage land to increase its value.Originality/valueThe paper differs from previous work in both variables considered and the data used. Also, most previous work has not as directly addressed the issue of the relative importance of agricultural, recreational and urban variables.

`Thus I salute the Kentucky Daisey's claim': gender, social memory, and the mythic West at a proposed Oklahoma monument

On 22 April 1889, at the beginning of the first Oklahoma land run when the US federal government allowed non-Indian settlers to claim what had been Native American lands, Nannita R.H. Daisey entered the newly opened territory by train to become one of the very first women to stake a quarter-section land claim, on land today part of Edmond. According to local lore, Daisy leapt from the cowcatcher of the train to stake her claim, removing her petticoat to mark the spot. Over 100 years later Edmond has proposed a bronze monument to Daisey, petticoat flying, riding on the cowcatcher, in an effort both to attract tourists with public art, and to recognize women's contributions to Oklahoma settlement. On the surface this seems a laudable attempt to re-inscribe women's lives in the history of the American West, the social memories of Oklahomans, and the landscape of contemporary Edmond — except that the story about the cowcatcher and the petticoat, though passed down in local lore for more than 100 years, is false. And that, in turn, provides feminist historical geographers with an opportunity to examine the canonization of an exaggerated version of an already heroicized tale of Euro-American conquest, and what that implies for the representation of women in the American West. In this article, in an effort to improve upon decades of superficial scholarship, and in the face of the proposed monument's mis-portrayal, I attempt to detail Daisey's biography and describe her actual deeds. But, since the lives of prominent westerners are often difficult to disentangle from the powerful romanticizing influence of the mythic West on themselves and on their representations, my attempt itself raises issues about the study and representation of westerners in the US as the article explores ways that western women have been represented, the role of a monument as the landscape representation of a western woman, and the specific gendered spatial framework for the creation of contemporary social memory that Nannita Daisey's monument and legendary tale present.

Dreams to Dust: A Tale of the Oklahoma Land Rush (review)

Dreams to Dust: A Tale of the Oklahoma Land Rush (review)

Fort Reno and the Indian territory frontier

Following the Indian uprising known as the Red River War, Fort Reno (in what would become western Oklahoma) was established in 1875 by the United States government. Its original assignment was to serve as an outpost to exercise control over the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. But Fort Reno also served as an embryonic frontier settlement around which the first trappings of Anglo-American society developed a regulatory force between the Indian tribes and the white man, and the primary arm of government responsible for restraining land-hungry whites from invading country promised to Native-American tribes by treaty. With the formation of the new Territory of Oklahoma and introduction of civil law, Fort Reno was forced to assume another purpose: it became a cavalry remount center. But when the mechanization of the military brought an end to the horse cavalry, the demise of Fort Reno was imminent. When Ben Clark, the prideful scout who knew and loved Fort Reno, ended his own life in 1914, the military post that had once thrived on America's frontier was brought to a poignant end. The story of Fort Reno, as detailed here by Stan Hoig, touches on several of the most important topics of nineteenth-century Western history: the great cattle drives, Indian pacification and the Plains Wars, railroads, white settlement, and the Oklahoma land rushes. Hoig deals not only with Fort Reno, but also with Darlington agency, the Chisolm Trail, and trading activities in Indian Territory from 1874 to approximately 1900. The author includes maps, photographs, and illustrations to enhance the narrative and guide the reader, like a scout, through a time of treacherous but fascinating events in the Old West.

The Costs of Free Land: The Oklahoma Land Rushes—Reply

The Costs of Free Land: The Oklahoma Land Rushes—Reply

Comment on Bohanon and Coelho, “The Costs of Free Land: The Oklahoma Land Rushes”

Comment on Bohanon and Coelho, “The Costs of Free Land: The Oklahoma Land Rushes”

The Costs of Free Land: The Oklahoma Land Rushes

There is an extensive literature in economic history on the disposition of public lands of the United States. Absent from this literature is any consideration of the Oklahoma Territory and the two unusual methods used to dispose of its lands. One method was a land rush where entrants literally raced to claim surveyed lots; the other was a lottery where random chance determined who won. This article develops a model of resource allocation applicable to land rushes and lotteries and examines evidence drawn from the Oklahoma land competitions. The model suggests that rent dissipation occurred. The available evidence corroborates this: some, if not all, of the benefits participants gained from the allocation of “free lands” were dissipated, although there are distinguishable differences in the real costs imposed by the two methods.

The Oxford History of the American West

When we think of the American West, we tend to conjure up images that are known the world over: bearded forty-niners leading pack mules up a mountain trail, the Oklahoma land stampede, Custer's Last Stand, and especially the range-riding, quick-shooting cowboy. But these familiar images are only a small part of western history. From the arrival of the Navajos in the Southwest more than seven hundred years ago, to the first Spanish settlements in New Mexico in the late sixteenth century, to the large Mormon migration to the Great Salt Lake, to the tourists flocking to the neon landscape of modern Las Vegas, the complex story of the West stretches across centuries, embracing many voices and contrasting cultures. The West is in fact as varied as America itself. Indeed, to enlarge on Wallace Stegner's singular phrase, the West is America, only more so. Lavishly illustrated and based on the finest scholarship, The Oxford History of the American West is the first comprehensive study to do full justice to the rich complexity of this region. It brings together the work of twenty-eight leading western historians who explore this area from a dazzling number of perspectives. They provide insightful portraits of the West as a distinctive place of varied peoples - native and non-native, European and Asian, African and Latino - and of varied terrain - from the timbered Pacific Northwest to the Dakota Badlands, and from the fires of Kilauea to the ice cliffs of Glacier Bay, Alaska. They describe the great wealth generated by a series of spectacular bonanzas, such as gold at Sutter's Mill, copper in Butte, Montana, and oil on Alaska's north shore; illuminate the role of the West in the national and global economy; and consider the environmental challenges created by replacing buffalo with cattle or by designating national parks and military test sites. The book also examines the social forces behind the violence of the West, the great political movements that affected the region (most notably, the Populist Party), and the importance of families in settling the West (for instance, tracing one family's westward migration over 150 years). The authors provide important insights about many longstanding controversies, and they offer not only the fruits of the latest thinking about the West, but also a vivid sense of how people actually lived. For instance, we read of pioneers who grated green corn to make pudding they flavored with berries and grasshoppers, and who ate the culms (the soft inner linings of the stalks) like asparagus. Finally, each chapter concludes with an extensive annotated bibliography, offering a full review of related material, and there is a comprehensive index to guide readers to topics of special interest. Ranging from a thoughtful analysis of John Ford's classic My Darling Clementine, to a revisionist look at cattle grandee Granville Stuart (once Montana's most revered pioneer), to a survey of Western art and literature (including figures as diverse as Francis Parkman, Frederic Remington, Willa Cather, Georgia O'Keeffe, and N. Scott Momaday), this lively, authoritative volume continually challenges the familiar as it broadens the reader's understanding of a vast and varied region.

Homesteading and Property Rights; Or, "How the West Was Really Won"

Homesteading and Property Rights; Or, "How the West Was Really Won"

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889

Journal Article The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 Get access The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. By Hoig Stan. (Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1984. xii + 288 pp. Illustrations, map, notes, bibliography, index. $17.95.) C. B. Clark C. B. Clark California State University, Long Beach Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Western Historical Quarterly, Volume 16, Issue 4, October 1985, Pages 472–473, https://doi.org/10.2307/968634 Published: 01 October 1985

Rationing by Waiting and the Value of Time: Results from a Natural Experiment

The authors analyze data from a natural experiment with rationing by waiting. In the situation, motorists were confronted with a choice between waiting in line for low-priced gasoline or purchasing at a higher price without waiting. They view this as a revealed preference experiment and use their choices to estimate the value of time spent waiting as a function of individual characteristics. In most cases the estimates of the value of time are quite similar to individuals' after-tax wages. 13 references, 7 tables.

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889.

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889.

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889