No Man's Land

In 1886 the strip's settlers tried to govern themselves. On August 26 thirty men at Beaver City, led by Dr. O. G. Chase, Dr. J. A. Overstreet and J. C. Hodge, met to register land claims, and a council elected in February 1887 spoke of a State of Cimarron and had a hardware merchant make it a seal. Rival factions sent both Chase and John Dale to Washington, and Congress tabled the petition. Drought followed, and after the Unassigned Lands opened in April 1889, more than ten thousand of the region's fourteen thousand people left within a year.

What the plaque says

You Are Now Entering Old "No Man's Land" Colorado | Kansas 37th Parallel Called "No Man's Land" until 1890 Known then as Beaver County Became the Panhandle of Okla. Statehood 1907 Texas State Line 36° 30' Parallel The 37th parallel was chosen as the southern boundary of Colorado and Kansas. New Mexico's eastern boundary was the 103rd meridian. By the Missouri Compromise, Texas came into the Union with 36° 30' parallel as their northern boundary. This northern boundary of Texas is the only state boundary in the Union set by the Missouri Com- promise (Mason-Dixon). The Cherokee Outlet stopped at the 100th meridian. This left a strip of land 34 miles wide and 167 miles long without any form of government. Congress called it the Public Land Strip but it became known as "No Man's Land" being outside any jurisdiction or any form of government. It became the home of outlaws, cowboys and settlers. Beaver City was the largest town in the area. By the Organic Act of 1890, Con- gress attached this unclaimed land to the newly organized Oklahoma Territory with Beaver City as the county seat. It continued thus until Okla. was admitted to the Union Sat. Nov. 16, 1907. Three counties were formed out of the Panhandle- Beaver, Texas and Cimarron. This area has the most unique history in all the United States. Beaver County Historical Society, Inc. Oklahoma Historical Society

Where it stands

More markers nearby

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