T H E S TAT E | H I S T O R Y
No Man’s Land
This unclaimed area in Oklahoma’s panhandle acted as one of the final vestiges of the Wild West.
T
A man is pictured in what will become the state of Oklahoma, circa 1889. Area in the Panhandle was dubbed ‘No Mans Land’ until passage of the Organic Act in 1890, officially declaring it part of the state’s territory. Photo courtesy the Oklahoma Historical Society
28
he Oklahoma Panhandle may very well have been one of the last vestiges of the Wild West. The area, a strip of land bordering Texas, Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado, remained unclaimed, officially at least, until 1890. This meant that the rules were made, broken and enforced by the residents living there at the time. And, due to popular cattle trails through the area, there were a lot of people passing through, and, eventually, some who chose to stay. It should be noted that this part of the country was long inhabited and traversed by Indigenous people. Different groups moved in and out through the millennia, but by the 18th century, the area was controlled by the Comanches, with influences from the Kiowas, Kiowa-Apache, Cheyennes and Utes. The Red River War, started in 1874, led to the forced removal of these tribes into southwestern Indian Territory. “There would have been a lot of people going back and forth across [the area], on cattle trails, but there weren’t really any permanent European settlements,” says J. Seth Hammond, curator of the No Man’s Land Museum, part of the No Man’s Land Historical Society. To begin to understand why the boundaries ended up where they did, you’d have to go all the way back to just after the colonial
OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2021
era in 1819 and the Adams-Onis federal public land. Treaty, says Hammond. This drew “So you start to see that by the far western border at the 100° this time, the early 1860s, there longitude line with the delineation is this area of territory out here of the U.S. and New Spain borders. that no one has really claimed,” says Hammond. “As other states In 1850, Texas ceded a large amount of land to the U.S. govern- and territories were drawing their boundaries, what is now the Oklament and the southern boundhoma Panhandle just kept getting ary of the future panhandle was left out.” drawn at 36°, Towns, such as 30 minutes N Beaver, Hardesty and latitude. This Optima, began to was because crop up in the area the Missouri in the late 1880s, Compromany of them along mise of 1820 known cattle trails, prohibited says Hammond. But slave-holding no one could technistates or Located in Goodwell near cally own the land, territories – Oklahoma Panhandle so the term No Man’s which Texas State University, the No Land came into use was – north Man’s Land Museum in the 1880s. of this point. strives to preserve the There were atAnd the history of the Panhandle tempts to get the southern and surrounding areas. area recognized as border of Visitors can learn how its own territory – Kansas was the Dust Bowl tragedy Cimarron Territory, drawn at affected the area, see says Hammond. But 37°N in an there never were attempt to farming and ranchenough people or not encroach ing implements used interest to make upon Cherothrough history, 19th that happen. And by kee Outlet century carpentry tools, 1890, with the pasland, and as well as natural historisage of the Organic due to the cal artifacts, including Act, the panhandle existence of a collection of ancient officially became a slave-holding Paleoindian points and part of Oklahoma plantations fossils excavated by the territory. in the area. WPA in Kenton. BONNIE RUCKER This left a “strip” of
NO MAN’S LAND MUSEUM
