Land Run of 1895 facts for kids
A land rush in progress.
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| Date | May 23, 1895 |
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| Location | Central Oklahoma |
| Also known as | Oklahoma Land Rush |
The Land Run of 1895 was the smallest and last land run in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A "land run" was a special event where people could race to claim a piece of land. This one happened because of an agreement between the Kickapoo Native American tribe and the U.S. federal government.
The agreement gave individual Kickapoo people about 22,640 acres (91.6 km2) of land. The government then bought the remaining 183,440 acres (742.4 km2) from the tribe. This extra land was then opened up for settlers to claim.
The land run took place on May 23, 1895. It had been delayed since 1890. This was because tribal members debated whether to accept the government's offers to divide their land. Federal officials used some unfair methods to get tribal leaders to sign the agreement. The Kickapoo Allotment Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on March 30, 1893. President Grover Cleveland then signed the official announcement to open the land.
What Was the Kickapoo Land?
The Kickapoo reservation was a large area of land, about 206,662 acres (836.3 km2). It was located between two rivers, the Deep Fork and North Canadian. It was also bordered by other former Native American reservations.
Only about 88,000 acres (356.1 km2) of this land were available for people to claim as homesteads. A homestead was a piece of land a family could settle on and farm. Some land was set aside for building schools.
What Happened After the Land Run?
Because this land run was so small, many people wanted land but couldn't get it. This led to many lawsuits and arguments over who owned what land. After this, future land openings were handled differently. Instead of races, land was sold by auction or given out through a lottery.
Many people were still unable to claim land. So, the Oklahoma Territorial Governor, William C. Renfrow, opened up another 90,000 acres (364.2 km2) of school land. This land was available for people to lease, giving them another chance to get land.
The land run also led to the creation of several new towns. These included McLoud, Hagar, Wellston, Kickapoo, and North Wichita, Oklahoma. It also made some counties bigger, such as Lincoln, Pottawatomie, and Oklahoma counties.
