Exploring Oklahoma City with rides along the Missouri River. Entered downtown from the south across a pedestrian bridge and up close to the iconic skyscraper, the Devon Energy Center. Then explored the Bricktown area and waterways.
The ride was very scenic and photos reflect the vibrant and active town.
Several photos in the album were of statues which represent the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889.
Boomers and Sooners
“The Oklahoma Land Rush, April 22, 1889”
A number of the people who participated in the run entered the unoccupied land early and hid there until the legal time of entry to lay quick claim to some of the most choice homesteads. These people came to be identified as “Sooners”. This led to hundreds of legal contests that arose and were decided first at local land offices and eventually by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Arguments included what constituted the “legal time of entry”. While some people think that the settlers who entered the territory at the legally appointed time were known as “boomers”, the term actually refers to those who campaigned for the opening of the lands, led by David L. Payne.