Oklahoma Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Oklahoma

Oklahoma Day is an annual state holiday observed in the United States on April 22. It commemorates the opening of the Oklahoma region to European settlement in 1889. The celebrations on April 22, also known as Oklahoma 89ers Day, are centred in Guthrie, about eighty miles from the starting line. The original participants, known as the “89ers,” reenacted the land drive in 1915, and Guthrie holds an annual 89ers celebration to commemorate the event. In some areas of Oklahoma, parades and celebrations are conducted to commemorate the occasion.

The background of Oklahoma Day

Since the end of the last ice age, people have lived in what is now Oklahoma. Around 850 A.D., permanent settlements such as the Spiro-mounds existed. European explorers visited the region for the first time in the 16th century.

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 incorporated the territory into the United States. The ‘Indian Removal Act of 1830’ and the ‘Indian Intercourse Act of 1834’ compelled thousands of Native Americans to leave their ancestral lands and relocate to Oklahoma, despite the Osage and Quapaw previously inhabiting the territory. The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail stretches across nine states and recounts the forced removal of Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles from their homelands.

Midway through the 19th century, it was difficult for ranchers in Texas and Kansas to satisfy the food demands of the major cities. The ‘Dawes Act’ was enacted in 1887 as a consequence of efforts to make more land available for farming, removing Native American control over a large portion of Oklahoma’s territory. This territory was offered to European immigrants beginning April 22, 1889. In 1889, Land Run made available for colonisation several counties in Oklahoma. Settlers could only claim quarter-acre parcels of land after a certain time, typically by noon on a specific date. This date is commemorated annually by Oklahoma Day. On November 16, 1907, Congress granted a state’s independence.

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5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT OKLAHOMA

Alabaster Caverns in Freedom is the largest alabaster deposit in the globe.

No other state has as many man-made lakes as Oklahoma, which contains 200.

With a total area of 69,903 square miles, Oklahoma is the 20th largest state in the United States.

Cimarron County in Oklahoma is the only county in the United States to border four states, including Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Kansas.

Oklahoma is home to Mount Cavanal, the tallest hill in the globe at 1,999 feet, which is located west of Poteau.

OKLAHOMA DAY DATES