Land Rush of 1889

The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands of former Indian Territory, which had earlier been assigned to the Creek and Seminole peoples. The area that was opened to settlement included all or part of the Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne counties of the present-day US state of Oklahoma.^[1]

The land run started at high noon on April 22, 1889. An estimated 50,000 people were lined up at the start, seeking to gain a piece of the available two million acres (8,100 km²).^[2]

The Unassigned Lands were considered some of the best unoccupied public land in the United States. The Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 was passed and signed into law with an amendment by Representative William McKendree Springer (R-IL) that authorized President Benjamin Harrison to open the two million acres (8,100 km²) for settlement. President Abraham Lincoln had earlier signed the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed settlers to claim lots of up to 160 acres (0.65 km²), provided that they lived on the land and improved it.^[2]