OKLAHOMA TERRITORY LAND RUN

April 22, 1889

 

Oklahoma’s ‘89er Day Celebration, is an annual April event commemorating Oklahoma’s first land run, held

on April 22, 1889, to open the Unassigned Lands of Central Oklahoma to non-Indian settlement. The

celebration occurs in various cities contained within the historic boundaries of the Unassigned Lands, a 1.8-million

acre geographic area that was bordered by the Cherokee Outlet on the north, the Chickasaw Nation to the south,

the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation to the west, and the Shawnee, Sac and Fox, Iowa, Pawnee, and

Pottawatomie reservations on the east. The City of Guthrie, site of much of the Land Run’s initial settlement and the territorial capital, held the inaugural ‘89er Day Celebration on the famous land opening’s first anniversary. The

ceremony, which continued in future years, received formal organization in 1911, when Guthrie citizens joined the

town’s Chamber of Commerce to host a parade and banquet. Past celebrations included lavish parades attended

by thousands, as well as rodeos, horse races, and square dancing contests, along with the requisite ‘89er Day

Queen crowning. In 1935, the annual festivities received official sanction when the Oklahoma State Senate and

House of Representatives authored Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 16, which provided for a “proper

celebration” of the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Unassigned Lands for settlement.