Oklahoma and the Indian Territory provided some of the West’s wildest history including one of its deadliest gunfights. The battle occurred on...
Where Was the Indian Territory?
In a word; eastern Oklahoma. Indian removals in the East began as early as 1817. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which authorized...
The Seminole Burnings
Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman's Courageous Work was the Greatest of His Legendary Career. The largest and most sensational criminal trial that...
The Wildest Town in Indian Territory
Muskogee, Oklahoma’s early years as a frontier outpost were violent, dangerous and unpredictable. Welcome to Muskogee, the rip-roaring and most...
No Complaints
A Texas cowman had a unique way of dealing with troublesome workers. You just didn’t mess with trail boss Mannen Clements (photo). He was leading a...
Native History Celebrated Large
Only months old, the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City is dedicated to truth-telling. It was once called Indian Territory, a dumping ground as...
Not-So Shining Store
Tom Starr led a criminal clan in Oklahoma. Tom Starr’s Cherokee father signed the treaty that forced the tribe to move to the Indian Territory. For...
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
With the boom of a cannon at Fort Reno at noon on April 22, 1889, more than 50,000 settlers rushed into the former Indian Territory of Oklahoma....
Sooners and Boomers!
The Land Run of 1891 was one of the most remarkable events in Western history. One needs to understand that Oklahoma is an instant land. There are...
Flight for Freedom
Follow the Northern Cheyennes’ desperate and deadly dash for home from Oklahoma to Montana. The hot August 1878 weather bore down at Darlington...
Bass Reeves: The Invincible Lawman
Born into slavery, the Arkansas native became a lauded, and legendary U.S. deputy marshal. Bass Reeves began his life as a slave in the state of...
Justice Comes, Better Late Than Never It took 13 years to catch up with two killers.
Cherokee Indians James Arcine and William Parchmeal were near Ft. Gibson, Indian Territory in November 1872. They came upon a Swedish traveler and...