Oklahoma
The Sooner State: "Unassigned Lands" in Oklahoma were offered to settlers
through a series of "Land Openings" where newcomers initially competed
for the land in horse races. The Land Run of 1889 began the process of disposing
of these Unassigned Lands. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided that a legal settler
could claim 160 acres of public land, and those who lived on and improved the
claim for five years could receive title.
People who entered the district illegally
to lay claim to lands, before the designated entry time, were called "Sooners."
The name came from a section in the Indian Appropriations Act of March 2, 1889,
that said that nobody would be permitted to enter upon and occupy the land before
the time designated in the President's opening proclamation and that those that
did would be denied rights to the land. This section became known as the "sooner
clause."
Early legal settlers had a very low
opinion of Sooners of course. This began to change by 1908 when the University
of Oklahoma named the football team the "Sooners." Like many nicknames,
this one's negative connotations faded over time and the name, Sooners, is now
worn with pride. Though not official, Oklahoma is popularly known as "The
Sooner State."
Boomer's Paradise: The terms "Boom"
and "Boomer" were first used by Dr. Morrison Munford in the Kansas City
Times in reference to the effort to establish settlements in the "Unassigned
Lands" and to the people involved in those efforts. Promoting the "Boomer's
Paradise," early advocates of settlement in the Unassigned Lands began what
is referred to as the "Boomer Movement." The Boomer Movement was initiated
before the Unasigned Lands were legally opened for settlement.
|
