Oklahoma City: Land Run to Statehood (Images of America) by Terry L. Griffith

Located along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, at a stop known as Oklahoma Station, Oklahoma City was born on April 22, 1889, at 12 noon. By 6:00 p.m., she had a population of around 10,000 citizens. As with any birth, there were many firsts in the newly opened territory, and many of these landmark events have been captured and preserved in historic photographs. With images culled from the archives of the author’s own vast personal collection as well as the Oklahoma Historical Society and other collections, the stories of prosperity and development of the area’s first settlers are told through Statehood. In light of this perseverance, it is no wonder that Theodore Roosevelt announced, “Men and Women of Oklahoma. I was never in your country until last night, but I feel at home here. I am blood of your blood, and bone of your bone, and I am bound to some of you, and to your sons, by the strongest ties that can bind one man to another.”