What was the 1889 Oklahoma event in which settlers raced to claim free land?

The 1889 Oklahoma event in which settlers raced to claim free land was the Oklahoma Land Run.

The run began at noon on April 22, 1889, after President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed roughly 1.9 million acres of the Unassigned Lands open to settlement. People who joined the race were popularly called “Sooners” if they entered or claimed land before the legal starting time.

The event created new settlements almost immediately, including Oklahoma City and Guthrie. It was conducted under the Homestead Act, which allowed eligible settlers to claim land if they lived on and improved it. The opening did not mean that all Indigenous land in the region had been freely surrendered; the Unassigned Lands had been taken from Native nations through federal policies and treaties.

The Cherokee Outlet opened in a separate land run in 1893, so the two events are often confused.