This strip of land was held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Cherokee Nation. Photo credits: All photographs presented in the published and online versions of The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture are the property of the Oklahoma Historical Society (unless otherwise stated). Plans asking New Mexico Territory to annex it, or attaching it to a future Oklahoma Territory, collapsed. A provisional government would organize the territory, encourage homesteading, and bring statehood. 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. The Oklahoma Panhandle (previously called No Man's Land and the Neutral Strip) is the extreme northwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, consisting of Cimarron County, Texas County and Beaver County, from west to east.As with other salients in the United States, its name comes from the similarity of its shape to the handle of a pan.. The council even enlisted a hardware store owner to create a territorial seal. Goins, Charles Robert and Danney Goble. The settlers formed their own vigilance committees, which organized a board charged with forming a territorial government. It was officially called the "Public Land Strip" and was commonly referred to as "No Man's Land. Congress tabled Chase's plea, and there, it died. Check flight prices and hotel availability for your visit. The largest town in the region is Guymon, which is the county seat of Texas County. As of the 2010 census, there were a total of 28,751 people, 10,451 households, and 7,466 families in the three counties that comprise the Oklahoma Panhandle. Drought and crop failure plagued homesteaders, who could not secure funds to help themselves. With the formation of the Texas Republic, they became part of Texas. The western adventures of tough, but fair, Marshal Jim Crown. Beaver and Texas counties last supported a Democrat for president in 1948, while Cimarron County last supported a Democrat in 1976. [13], In 1889, the Unassigned Lands to the east of the territory were opened for settlement, and many of the residents went there. By 1935, the area was widely known as the Dust Bowl. These Southern Plains villagers became the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. In 1885 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this strip of public land did not belong to the Cherokee Outlet; thus, open-range grazing ended, and settlers, mainly from Kansas, poured in. [citation needed], Panhandle in north-western Oklahoma and former unorganized territory, "Neutral Strip" redirects here. Copyright to all of these materials is protected under United States and International law. In 1885, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the strip was not part of the Cherokee Outlet. Settlers by the thousands flooded in to assert their "squatter's rights" anyway. The opening of Oklahoma's Unassigned Lands in April 1889 signaled Cimarron Territory's death knell. These two factions refused to acknowledge each other's legitimacy, and both Chase and Dale went to Washington as the "real" spokesperson. The Panhandle, 166 miles (267 km) long and 34 miles (55 km) wide, is bordered by Kansas and Colorado at 37°N on the north, New Mexico at 103°W on the west, Texas at 36.5°N on the south, and the remainder of Oklahoma at 100°W on the east. Confusion about the name of the Strip arose in the public mind. The Oklahoma Panhandle had the highest population at its first census, more than double its current population.[16]. This page was last edited on 29 November 2020, at 07:46. In addition, the council determined that citizens should elect a senate and house in November. Black Mesa State Park features a hiking trail to the top of Oklahoma's highest point. [18] Hispanic and Latino Americans made up 35.85% of the population. [5] The arrival of horses from Spain in the 16th century, allowed American Indian tribes to increase their hunting ranges. Neither delegation was able to persuade Congress to accept the new territory. Confusion about the name of the Strip arose in the public mind. The per capita income for the region was $16,447. Several Antelope Creek phase sites were founded near present-day Guymon, including the McGrath, Stamper and Two Sisters sites. [10], Chase went to Washington, D.C., to lobby for admission to Congress as the delegate from the new territory. 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). See also: OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, ORGANIC ACT, SETTLEMENT PATTERNS. The Panhandle is rather thinly populated (when compared to the rest of Oklahoma) making the labor force in this region very small. The members from these districts were to be the legislative body for the proposed territory. Patrolling this vast, rugged frontier is Marshal Jim Crown (Stuart Whitman), the one and only man responsible for maintaining justice and enforcing the peace among cattlemen, settlers, outlaws, Indians and the U.S. Army. The remaining settlers finally found relief when the area became officially attached to Oklahoma Territory in May 1890, ending all hopes for Cimarron Territory. Only thirteen of twenty-three elected legislators attended. Farming and ranching operations occupy most of the economic activity in the region, with ranching dominating the drier western end. Cimarron Territory refers to the area that is now the Oklahoma Panhandle, a strip of land 34 miles wide and 169 miles long. [18] The median income for a household in the region was $34,404, and the median income for a family was $40,006. The three-county Oklahoma Panhandle region had a population of 28,751 at the 2010 U.S. Census, representing 0.77% of the state's population. Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill School, Chisholm Trail Museum and A. J. Seay Mansion, Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program. By November a petition requested another meeting to create territorial government by electing three councilmen in February 1887. Regardless, a new territorial council convened. Oklahoma comes very close to being a boxy nonentity on the national map. The Panhandle was severely affected by the drought of the 1930s. The dust storms were largely a result of poor farming techniques and a plow-up of the native grasses that held the fine soil in place. Homesteaders paid one dollar and agreed to have claims investigated. Users agree not to download, copy, modify, sell, lease, rent, reprint, or otherwise distribute these materials, or to link to these materials on another web site, without authorization of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The Western history of the Panhandle traces its origins as being part of New Spain. It passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives but was not signed by President Grover Cleveland. Maps, Driving Directions & Local Area Information In the 1880s a grassroots movement sought territorial status for Cimarron Territory. Still, the council reconvened for three days in March 1889, but few attended. [15] The passage of the Organic Act in 1890 assigned Public Land Strip to the new Oklahoma Territory, and ended the short-lived Cimarron Territory aspirations.