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When the rolling
grassy hills of what would one day become
Oklahoma City was first explored by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
in 1541, the vast land was uninhabited and continued to be sparsely
settled for the next two hundred years.
After the
Louisiana Purchase was made from France,
Oklahoma
eventually become part of the
Arkansas
Territory in 1819.
As settlers began to push west from the
eastern seaboard during the early nineteenth century, the government
forced thousands of
American Indians from their ancestral lands. Though there
were numerous treaties with the five civilized tribes of the
southeastern United States, the pioneers demanded more land and in
response, President Andrew Jackson signed the Removal Act of 1830. This act forced the
Cherokee,
Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole to evacuate their lands and
move to
Indian
Territory,
which would later become
Oklahoma.
 In
1889, the U.S. Government opened parts of
Oklahoma
to white settlement which began the historic
Oklahoma
land rushes. When the territory where
Oklahoma City would be built was officially opened on April 22,
1889, more than 50,000 homesteaders gathered at the boundaries. Some people snuck over the night to stake out prime land early, hiding
from the army patrols. These were known as "Sooners."
At noon, the cannon roared, and the hordes
of people streamed over the line on wagons and buckboards, horseback,
on foot, and even on bicycles. Where only the day before stood a
railroad station and three buildings, now some 10,000 people had
staked claims during a single day.
Claim jumping was common, as were boundary
quarrels that led to fights and considerable bloodshed during these
first few days. Tents were thrown up in haphazard fashion, and
mass confusion reigned in the rough shod camp. Because Congress had
made no provision for a city government, leaders were soon chosen to
restore order. A provisional government was selected and elections
were held on May 1, 1889. Just a month after the
Land Run, the Commercial Club was formed, which would later be renamed the
Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.
One of the Chamber’s
first orders of business was to attract the railroads to
Oklahoma City, which was the key to the quick success of the settlement. Soon,
Oklahoma City became a crossroads for the nation. Later the
Chamber led the way in providing utilities, such as the water system,
telephone exchange, electric light and a gas system.
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