Editing Oklahoma Territory (section)

===Land Run and the Sooners===
The Land Run of 1889, the first land run in the territory's history, opened Oklahoma Territory to settlement on April 22, 1889. Over 50,000 people entered the lands on the first day, among them thousands of [[Freedman|freedmen]] and descendants of slaves. Couch and his Boomers, now numbering approximately 14,000, also entered the race. Those who entered Oklahoma before the official start of the race were called [[Sooners]].<ref name="Internet Archive">[https://web.archive.org/web/20060218001824/http://www.ok-history.mus.ok.us/enc/sooner.htm "Internet Archive, Way Back Machine."Retrieved May 10, 2013]</ref> The term referred to the "sooner clause" in the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which states that anyone who violated the official start would be denied a claim to the land.<ref name="EOHC-Sooner">Blachowiak, Mary Ann. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SO010 "Sooner,"] ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', 2009.  Retrieved March 1, 2015.</ref>

When the run began at noon, men on thousands of horses, wagons, buggies, carts, and vehicles rushed across to Oklahoma. The law-abiders fought with the Sooners on several instances. A legal pioneer shot and wounded William Couch, a Sooner. He died on April 21, 1890, as a result of his wounds. 

When the race was over, many disappointed pioneers were forced to leave the area without any claim. Of the 14,000 Boomers, only 1,000 had made claims. Tent cities grew overnight at [[Oklahoma City]], [[Kingfisher, Oklahoma|Kingfisher]], [[El Reno, Oklahoma|El Reno]], [[Norman, Oklahoma|Norman]], [[Guthrie, Oklahoma|Guthrie]], and [[Stillwater, Oklahoma|Stillwater]], which were the first of the large settlements. Many lawsuits resulted because more than one person claimed a particular piece of land. Often this involved trying to determine which party was a legal claimant. A portion of the cases even went as far as the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref name="EOHC-1889_Run">Hoig, Stan. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=LA014 "Land Run of 1889,"]  ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', 2009. Accessed March 1, 2015.</ref>