Today in Oklahoma History
Ingalls Shootout
Friday, September, 1, 1893 – Ingalls, Oklahoma was the site of a famous battle on this day between U.S. marshals and the Doolin-Dalton gang. Three marshals and two residents were killed. Several people were wounded and one outlaw was captured. more...
Geronimo surrenders
Saturday, September, 4, 1886 – On this day in 1886, Apache chief Geronimo surrenders to U.S. government troops. For 30 years, the mighty Native American warrior had battled to protect his tribe's homeland; however, by 1886 the Apaches were exhausted and hopelessly outnumbered. General Nelson Miles accepted Geronimo's surrender, making him the last Indian warrior to formally give in to U.S. forces and signaling the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest. ... Geronimo and a band of Apaches were sent to Florida and then Alabama, eventually ending up at the Comanche and Kiowa reservation near Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory. ... He died at Fort Sill on February 17, 1909. More...
Adamson Mine Disaster
Friday, September, 4, 1914 – The roof fell in at Mine Number 1 killing 14 miners.
Wiley Post's First Pressure Suit Flight
Wednesday, September, 5, 1934 – In the first flight using the suit on this day, Wiley Post reached an altitude of 40,000 feet above Chicago. Eventually flying as high as 50,000 feet, Post discovered the jet stream and made the first major practical advances in pressurized flight. more...
Oklahoma!
Saturday, September, 5, 1953 – The Oklahoma state song officially changed to “Oklahoma!” on Sept. 5, 1953. The original state song was “Oklahoma, A Toast,” before State Representative George Nigh introduced a bill in April 1953 to change it to the current official song. Then-Governor Johnston Murray signed the bill into effect and the rest is history. (Article from KSWO)
Tar Creek
Thursday, September, 8, 1983 – From the late 1880s to 1960s, the Tar Creek site consisted of 300 miles of tunnels where zinc and lead was mined. After the mining companies shut down in 1970, the lead and zinc-rich underground area became more than 800 acres polluted with mill and sludge ponds, contaminated groundwater and surface water and countless other environmental problems. In September, 1983 Tar Creek was added to the EPA's Superfund National Priority List more...
Sand Hills
Thursday, September, 10, 1868 – Due to constant Indian raiding in Kansas during the summer of 1868, the army sent an expedition to punish the tribes south of the Arkansas River. Brig. Gen. Alfred Sully led 500 men in 9 companies of the 7th Cavalry under Maj. Joel H. Elliot, and Company F of the 3rd Infantry, out of Fort Dodge on September 7th. On September 10th, near the confluence of Crooked Creek and the Cimarron River, the expedition's scouts were attacked by Indians but escaped. more...
9/11
Tuesday, September, 11, 2001 – On the morning of September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. Each team of hijackers included a trained pilot. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the World Trade Center in New York City. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. Passengers and members of the flight crew on the fourth aircraft attempted to retake control of their plane from the hijackers; that plane crashed into a field near the town of Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. more...
OSBI accredited by CALEA
Wednesday, September, 11, 2002 – On September 11th, 2002, the OSBI became the first Oklahoma state law enforcement agency to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement (CALEA). more...
The Battle of Turkey Springs
Friday, September, 13, 1878 – The last armed conflict between the U.S. Cavalry and American Indians, in Indian Territory, present day Oklahoma, occurred on September 13 and 14, 1878. A band of Northern Cheyenne left the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency near Fort Reno without permission and fled north and westward toward their former homelands on the Northern Plains. This exodus has known popularity as the Cheyenne Outbreak or Dull Knife's Raid. However, the Northern Cheyenne People were merely attempting to return to their home in Montana and Wyoming. MORE
First classes of University of Oklahoma held
Thursday, September, 15, 1892 – The University of Oklahoma was established by the first Territorial Legislature in 1890 and classes began in 1892. Cleveland County, Oklahoma Territory, contributed $10,000 and citizens of Norman donated 40 acres for the campus. David Ross Boyd was the first president. More ...
Oklahoma under Martial Law
Saturday, September, 15, 1923 – Oklahoma was placed under martial law by Gov. John Calloway Walton due to terrorist activity by the Ku Klux Klan. After this declaration national newspapers began to expose the Klan and its criminal activities. more...
Cherokee Strip Land Run
Saturday, September, 16, 1893 – On this day the eastern end of the Cherokee Outlet was settled in the Cherokee Strip land run, the largest land run in the United States. This section of land is still known as the Cherokee Strip, and the label has often been used to refer to the whole of the Cherokee Outlet. more...
Oklahoma Constitution
Tuesday, September, 17, 1907 – Future Governors William "Alfalfa Bill" Murray and Henry Johnston and a crowd of delegates gathered in Guthrie and voted to approve Oklahoma's constitution. They sent it to President Theodore Roosevelt for approval, the final step needed before the area could became a state. more...
Battle of Cabin Creek
Sunday, September, 18, 1864 – A Confederate force of 2,000, mainly Gen. Stand Watie's Indian Brigade, intercepted a Union supply train enroute from Kansas to Ft. Gibson. The convoy of 130 wagons with supplies worth $1.5 million was captured after a heavy engagement. Last major Civil War engagement in Indian Territory. more...
Northwestern Academy
Monday, September, 19, 1898 – On this day the first classes were held at the Northwestern Academy in Carrier, Oklahoma Territory. The Academy was an important education cultural and religious center, serving a wide area with significant influence through out the years. more...
Brooks–McFarland Feud
Monday, September, 22, 1902 – The Brooks–McFarland feud was a family feud that took place between 1896 and 1902, in what is now the state of Oklahoma. It began after the death of Thomas Brooks on August 24, 1896. The Brooks family blamed the McFarlands and from there followed a series of confrontations that culminated in a historic shootout at Spokogee on September 22, 1902. During the shootout, Willis Brooks and two others were killed while a fourth man was seriously wounded. The feud ended about three weeks later, on October 10, 1902, when Jim McFarland was ambushed and killed near his home. According to the author Edward Herring: "The deaths of Willis Brooks and Jim McFarland signaled the end of an era when disputes were settled with gun smoke and hot lead. With them also died the old feud. more...
Oklahoma Route 66 Museum Opens in Clinton
Saturday, September, 23, 1995 – The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum officially opened on this day with a grand opening celebration in Clinton, Oklahoma, including car shows, free live entertainment, a rock'n roll dance and many other activities. more...
Cherokee Advocate Published
Thursday, September, 26, 1844 – The first newspaper, the Cherokee Advocate, began publication in September of 1844. This paper migrated with the Cherokee Indians from Georgia and was published as the official organ of the tribal government and a dispenser of missionary and agricultural matter. It was printed in English on two pages, with a Cherokee language version printed on the other two pages. more...
Buddy Holly and The Crickets at Tinker
Sunday, September, 29, 1957 – On this day rock'n roll legends Buddy Holly and The Crickets recorded "An Empty Cup", "Rock Me My Baby", "You've Got Love", and "Maybe Baby" in the Tinker Air Force Base Officer's Club. more...