by francopoli

With all the land in the world claimed or being fought over, reading about this just sound bonkers. You start at a line on the map, at Noon a starting pistol is fired, and you go claim 160 acres of land that is now yours, as long as you live on it and improve it.

Many settlers immediately started improving their new land or stood in line waiting to file their claim. Many children sold creek water to homesteaders waiting in line for five cents a cup, while other children gathered buffalo dung to provide fuel for cooking. By the second week, schools had opened and were being taught by volunteers paid by pupils' parents until regular school districts could be established. Within one month, Oklahoma City had five banks and six newspapers.