Editing Oklahoma panhandle (section)

==History==
[[File:Okterritory.png|thumb|Map of Oklahoma Territory, Indian Territory and the "neutral strip"]]
[[File:Wpdms republic of texas.svg|thumb|The 1845 [[Texas annexation]] included the area of the future Oklahoma panhandle.]]
[[File:No Man's Land Monument.jpg|thumb|No Man's Land Monument, U.S. Highway 64 east of [[Gate, Oklahoma|Gate]] (Oklahoma panhandle)]]
What is now the Oklahoma panhandle has been occupied for millennia. The [[Paleo-Indians|Paleo-Indian]] people of the region were part of the Beaver River complex. A Paleo-Indian encampment, the Bull Creek site, dates back to approximately 8450 BCE, and the Badger Hole site dates to circa 8400 BCE.<ref>Leland Bement, [https://core.tdar.org/document/395221/beaver-river-complex-contribution-to-folsom-archaeology-an-update-and-future-directions "Beaver River Complex Contribution to Folsom Archaeology: An Update and Future Directions,"] The Digital Archaeological Record (2015).</ref>

Shortly before the arrival of European explorers,<ref>{{cite web |title=African Explorers of Spanish America |url=https://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/SpanishAmB.htm |website=Park Ethnography Program |publisher=US National Park Service |access-date=April 13, 2015 |archive-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331112504/http://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/SpanishAmB.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> the panhandle was home to [[Southern Plains villagers]]. From 1200 to 1500, the semi-sedentary [[panhandle culture]] peoples, including the [[Antelope Creek phase]],<ref name=antelope>{{cite web |last1=Lintz |first1=Christopher |title=Antelope Creek Phase |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bba07 |website=Texas State Historical Association |access-date=March 17, 2015 |archive-date=February 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224100259/http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bba07 |url-status=live }}</ref> lived in the region in large, stone-slab and plaster houses in villages or individual homesteads. As horticulturists, they farmed maize and indigenous crops from the [[Eastern Agricultural Complex]]. Several Antelope Creek phase sites were founded near present-day Guymon, including the McGrath, [[Stamper site|Stamper]] and Two Sisters sites.<ref name=antelope /> The arrival of horses from Spain in the 16th century allowed [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian tribes]] to increase their hunting ranges. These Southern Plains villagers became the [[Wichita people|Wichita and Affiliated Tribes]].

The Western history of the panhandle traces its origins as being part of [[New Spain]]. The [[Adams–Onís Treaty]] of 1819 between Spain and the United States set the western boundary of this portion of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] at the 100th meridian. With Mexican independence in 1821, these lands became part of Mexico. With the formation of the [[Republic of Texas|Texas Republic]], they became part of Texas. When Texas joined the U.S. in 1846, the strip became part of the United States.<ref name="Gibson">Gibson, Arrell M. ''Oklahoma: A History of Five Centuries''.  Retrieved May 11, 2013. Available on Google Books.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HiP-sWiqYL4C&dq=%22Oklahoma+Territorial+Government%22&pg=PA178]</ref>

The Cimarron Cutoff for the [[Santa Fe Trail]] passed through the area soon after the trade route was established in 1826 between the Mexicans in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] and the Americans in [[St. Louis]]. The route was increasingly used during the [[California Gold Rush]]. The cutoff passed several miles north of what are now [[Boise City, Oklahoma]], and [[Clayton, New Mexico]], before continuing toward Santa Fe.<ref>[http://www.santafetrailresearch.com/mileagecharts/santa-fe-trail-map-00.jpg Map of the Santa Fe Trail] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313202130/http://santafetrailresearch.com/mileagecharts/santa-fe-trail-map-00.jpg |date=March 13, 2016 }}. Retrieved February 14, 2015.</ref>

When Texas sought to enter the Union in 1845 as a [[Slave states and free states|slave state]], federal law in the United States, based on the [[Missouri Compromise]], prohibited slavery north of 36°30' north latitude. Under the [[Compromise of 1850]], Texas surrendered its lands north of 36°30', rather than have a portion of the state as "free" territory. The 170-mile strip of land, a "neutral strip", was left with no state or territorial ownership from 1850 until 1890. It was officially called the "'''Public Land Strip'''" and was commonly referred to as "No Man's Land."<ref>{{cite news |title=Oklahoma Panhandle: Badmen in No Man's Land |url=http://www.historynet.com/oklahoma-panhandle-badmen-in-no-mans-land.htm |access-date=November 30, 2012 |newspaper=Wild West magazine |date=June 12, 2006 }}</ref><ref name="EOHC-NML">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Turner |first=Kenneth R. |title=No Man's Land |url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=NO001 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |access-date=November 30, 2012 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402160744/http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=NO001 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Compromise of 1850 also established the eastern boundary of [[New Mexico Territory]] at the 103rd meridian, thus setting the western boundary of the strip. The [[Kansas–Nebraska Act]] of 1854 set the southern border of [[Kansas Territory]] as the 37th parallel. This became the northern boundary of "No Man's Land." When Kansas joined the Union in 1861, the western part of Kansas Territory was assigned to the [[Colorado Territory]] but did not change the boundary of "No Man's Land."<ref name="EOHC-NML" />

===Cimarron Territory===
After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], cattlemen moved into the area. Gradually they organized themselves into ranches and established their own rules for arranging their land and adjudicating their disputes. There was still confusion over the status of the strip, and some attempts were made to arrange rent with the [[Cherokee]]s, despite the fact that the [[Cherokee Outlet]] ended at the 100th meridian. In 1885, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the strip was not part of the Cherokee Outlet.<ref name="cimarron">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CI005 Sara Richter and Tom Lewis,  "Cimarron Territory", ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402172154/http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CI005 |date=April 2, 2015 }} Accessed April 13, 2013.</ref>  In 1886, Interior Secretary [[Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar|L. Q. C. Lamar]] declared the area to be [[Public domain (land)|public domain]] and subject to "[[Adverse possession|squatter's rights]]".<ref name="Wardell, p. 83">Wardell, p. 83.</ref>

The strip was not yet [[Public Land Survey System|surveyed]], and as that was one of the requirements of the [[Homestead Acts|Homestead Act of 1862]], the land could not be officially settled. Settlers by the thousands flooded in to assert their "squatter's rights" anyway. They surveyed their own land and by September 1886 had organized a self-governing and self-policing jurisdiction, which they named the '''Cimarron Territory'''. Senator [[Daniel W. Voorhees]] of Indiana introduced a bill in [[United States Congress|Congress]] to attach the so-called territory to Kansas. It passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives but was not signed by President [[Grover Cleveland]].<ref name="cimarron"/>

The organization of Cimarron Territory began soon after Secretary Lamar declared the area open to settlement by squatters. The settlers formed their own [[vigilance committee]]s, which organized a board charged with forming a territorial government. The board enacted a preliminary code of law and divided the strip into three districts. They also called for a general election to choose three members from each district to form a government.<ref>Wardell, p. 84.</ref>

The elected council met as planned, elected Owen G. Chase as president, and named a full cabinet. They also enacted further laws and divided the strip into five counties (Benton, Beaver, Palo Duro, Optima, and Sunset), three senatorial districts (with three members from each district), and seven delegate districts (with two members from each district). The members from these districts were to be the [[legislature|legislative body]] for the proposed territory. Elections were held November 8, 1887, and the legislature met for the first time on December 5, 1887.<ref name="cimarron"/>

Chase went to Washington, D.C., to lobby for admission to Congress as the delegate from the new territory.  He was not recognized by Congress.<ref name=Interior-1904>{{cite book |title=Annual Reports of the Department of the Interior for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1904 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qbpTAAAAIAAJ |access-date=November 30, 2012 |year=1904 |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |pages=463–465 |chapter=Beaver County – No Man's Land }}</ref>  A group disputing the Chase organization met and elected and sent its own delegate to Washington.<ref>Wardell, p. 86.</ref> A bill was introduced to accept Chase but was never brought to a vote. Neither delegation was able to persuade Congress to accept the new territory.<ref name="Wardell, p. 83"/> Another delegation went in 1888 but was also unsuccessful.<ref name=Interior-1904/>

===Settlement and assimilation===
In 1889, the [[Unassigned Lands]] to the east of the territory [[Land Rush of 1889|were opened for settlement]], and many of the residents went there. The remaining population was generously estimated by Chase at 10,000 after the opening. Ten years later, an actual count revealed a population of 2,548.<ref>Wardell, p. 885</ref> The passage of the [[Oklahoma Organic Act|Organic Act in 1890]] assigned ''Public Land Strip'' to the new [[Oklahoma Territory]], and ended the short-lived Cimarron Territory aspirations.<ref name=Interior-1904/>

[[Image:Old Beaver County.png|580px|center|thumb|Beaver County encompassed the whole panhandle from 1890 until statehood.]]
In 1891, the government completed the survey, and the remaining squatters were finally able to secure their homesteads under the Homestead Act. The new owners were then able to obtain mortgages against their property, enabling them to buy seed and equipment. Capital and new settlers came into the area, and the first railroad, the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Rock Island]], built a line through the county from [[Liberal, Kansas]], to [[Dalhart, Texas]]. Agriculture began changing from subsistence farms to grain exporters.<ref name="EOHC-NML"/>

''"''No Man's Land''"'' became '''Seventh County''' under the newly organized Oklahoma Territory and was soon renamed Beaver County. Beaver City became the county seat. When Oklahoma Territory and [[Indian Territory]] were combined in 1907 as the state of Oklahoma, Beaver County was divided into Beaver, Texas, and Cimarron counties. The Oklahoma panhandle had the highest population at its first census in 1910, 32,433 residents, compared to 28,729 in the 2020 census.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://southcarolina1670.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/cimarron-concept-of-panhandle-state-nixed-by-political-squabbling/ |title=Cimarron: Concept of Panhandle state nixed by political squabbling |date=November 4, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045221 |title=United States Census Bureau Quick Facts |access-date=January 30, 2022 |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202181905/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045221 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Dust Bowl===
The panhandle was severely affected by the drought of the 1930s. The drought began in 1932 and created massive dust storms. By 1935, the area was widely known as being part of the [[Dust Bowl]]. The dust storms were largely a result of poor farming techniques and the plowing up of the native grasses that had held the fine soil in place. Despite government efforts to implement conservation measures and change the basic farming methods of the region, the Dust Bowl persisted for nearly a decade. It contributed significantly to the length of the [[Great Depression]] in the United States.<ref>[http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/ok/es_ok_dustbowl_1.html Library of Congress. "America's Story from America's Library: The Dust Bowl of Oklahoma] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602021926/http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/ok/es_ok_dustbowl_1.html |date=June 2, 2013 }}." Retrieved July 30, 2013.</ref> Each of the three counties experienced a major loss of population during the 1930s.{{citation needed|date = September 2024}}

The social impact of the dust bowl and the resulting emigration of tenant farmers from Oklahoma is the setting for the 1939 novel ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'' by Nobel Prize-winning author [[John Steinbeck]].{{citation needed|date = September 2024}}