Congressional Act Defines 'Indian Country'

June 30, 1834 - On this day Congress passed the final Indian Intercourse Act. In addition to regulating relations between Indians living on Indian land and non-Indians, this final act identified an area known as "Indian country". This land was described as being "all that part of the United States west of the Mississippi and not within the states of Missouri and Louisiana, or the territory of Arkansas" This is the land that became known as Indian Territory. more...

Battle of the J.R. Williams

June 15, 1864 - American Civil War -- Site of the civil war naval battle. Confederate Indian forces, led by Cherokee Brig. Gen. Stand Watie, forced aground and captured Union Steamboat J. R. Williams with cargo valued at $120,000 on June 15, 1864. Southern troops included Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles. more...

Stand Watie Surrender

June 23, 1865 - On this day, Brigadier General Stand Watie was the last Confederate General to surrender at the end of the Civil War. More...

Bodamer's Fight

June 8, 1870 - Lt. John A. Bodamer and 25 men of Company F, 10th Cavalry, were escorting a large ox train from Fort Dodge to Camp Supply, about 80 miles south. Near the edge of Indian territory, about 100 Cheyennes attacked. Bodamer corralled the wagons and fought off the Indians until nightfall, then dispatched Pvt. William Edmonson to Camp Supply for reinforcements. Narrowly escaping capture, Edmonson reached the post at 11 p.m. When Capt. Nicholas Nolan arrived the next morning, the Cheyennes were gone. During the fight Bodamer and his men killed three Cheyennes and wounded ten. Two soldiers, a Cpl. Freeman and a Pvt. Winchester, were wounded. more...

Buffalo Creek

June 21, 1874 - At Buffalo, Oklahoma, Maj. Charles E. Compton, 6th Cavalry, with a detachment of Company G, 6th Cavalry, and a detachment of Company A, 3rd Infantry, were on the road from Camp Supply to Fort Dodge as a mail escort. Just south of Buffalo Creek they were attacked by about 30 Cheyennes, who wounded one soldier and one civilian. Two Cheyennes were thought to be wounded. more...

Platt National Park

June 29, 1906 - Platt National Park was designated on this day in 1906. Now named the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, the park preserves partially forested hills of south-central Oklahoma near Sulphur. more...

State Seal Moved

June 11, 1910 - In the dead of night on June 11, 1910, the official state seal of the State of Oklahoma was moved from Guthrie to Oklahoma City.

National Defense Act of 1920 Forms 45th Infantry Division

June 4, 1920 - Following World War I, the National Defense Act of 1920 created the authority to form the 45th Infantry Division from the four states of Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. The division was organized in 1923, and Oklahoma members camped together for the first time at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1924. more...

Wiley Post Flies Around The World

June 23, 1931 - On this day, Wiley Post and his navigator, Harold Gatty, left Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York in the Winnie Mae with a flight plan that would take them around the world, making fourteen stops along the way in Newfoundland, England, Germany, the Soviet Union, Alaska, Alberta, Canada and Cleveland, Ohio before returning to Roosevelt Field. They arrived back on July 1 after traveling 15,474 miles in the record time of 8 days and 15 hours and 51 minutes. more...

Parking Meters

June 16, 1935 - Oklahoma City became the first city in the U.S. to make use of parking meters. more...

First Shopping Cart

June 4, 1937 - The first shopping cart was introduced by Sylvan Goldman in Oklahoma City more...

Korean War

June 25, 1950 - The U.S. joined a United Nations force to North Korea to withdrawal from South Korea. more...

SONIC America's Drive-In

June 18, 1953 - Troy Smith opens his first Top Hat Drive-In in Shawnee, OK, featuring an intercom speaker system for ordering and Carhop delivery service. Later Top Hat will be re-named SONIC Drive-In, and become the nation's largest chain of drive-in restaurants.

The 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Time Capsule

June 15, 1957 - A new gold and white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe was buried in a time capsule in downtown Tulsa, OK more...

Girl Scout Murders

June 13, 1977 - In 1977, Oklahoma and the entire nation were shocked when three young Girl Scouts were found murdered at Camp Scott near Locust Grove. Eight-year-old Lori Farmer, 10-year-old Doris Milner of Tulsa and 9-year-old Michelle Guse of Broken Arrow had been beaten and sexually assaulted. Gene Leroy Hart was arrested for the crime but never proved guilty. The case remains open. more...

Route 66 Decommissioned

June 27, 1985 - US 66 was officially decommissioned (that is, officially removed from the United States Highway System) on June 27, 1985 after it was decided the route was no longer relevant and had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System. more...

Barry Switzer Resigns

June 20, 1989 - Barry Switzer resigned as the head football coach of the University of Oklahoma on this day. Switzer left Oklahoma with a career record of 157 / 29 / 4. more...

McVeigh convicted for Oklahoma City bombing

June 2, 1997 - Timothy McVeigh, a former U.S. Army soldier, is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. More...

McVeigh executed for OKC Bombing

June 11, 2001 - Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the bombing after being convicted of, among other things, murdering federal law enforcement officials. He was executed by lethal injection at a U.S. penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. more...

Oklahoma Spaceport Receives License

June 12, 2006 - The Licensing and Safety Division of the Commercial Space Transportation Division of the FAA Carole Flores signs the Launch Site Operator License for Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority. more...

Tulsa Time Capsule Unearthed

June 15, 2007 - The 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Time Capsule was unearthed in Tulsa as part of the Oklahoma Centennial celebration. more...