"Looking For A Town Lot"
ca. 1889
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In the 1800s, the Federal government had resettled several American Indian tribes into "Indian Territory." Then in the late 1800s, Congress adopted a policy of giving individual farms to American Indians on reservations and opening the remaining Indian lands to settlers. The most famous opening was the "land rush" in Oklahoma Territory.
This photograph was taken in the town of Guthrie, in what was "Indian Territory," in present-day Oklahoma. The Oklahoma District was opened for settlement at noon on April 22, 1889, and new towns like Guthrie arose quickly. By sunset on April 22nd, every available homestead lot in the Oklahoma District had been claimed, over 1.9 million acres. Oklahoma City had a population of 10,000 tent dwellings by that night and Guthrie had nearly 15,000.
This photograph was taken in the town of Guthrie, in what was "Indian Territory," in present-day Oklahoma. The Oklahoma District was opened for settlement at noon on April 22, 1889, and new towns like Guthrie arose quickly. By sunset on April 22nd, every available homestead lot in the Oklahoma District had been claimed, over 1.9 million acres. Oklahoma City had a population of 10,000 tent dwellings by that night and Guthrie had nearly 15,000.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior.
National Archives Identifier: 516443
Full Citation: Photograph 48-RST-7B-79; 'Looking For A Town Lot.' Guthrie, Ind. Terr. [Oklahoma]; ca. 1889; Photographs Accompanying Reports to the Secretary of the Interior, 1887 - 1930; Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, Record Group 48; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/looking-for-town-lot, April 22, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
