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99-494: The Kechemeche were first encountered in approximately the year 1600 by European colonists who found the natives to be generally friendly and cooperative. By 1735 the Kechemeche were no longer a viable population, through losses from illness and disease, from being absorbed into the occupying colonial population, and by settling elsewhere, including joining other tribes. Eventually, remaining Kechemeche were relocated to Oklahoma by

198-453: A " mohawk " haircut. In times of conflict, a warrior employed bow and arrow, war club, and often a shield. Since the Kechemeche lived close to the shores of Delaware Bay , they collected what are now known as " Cape May diamonds ," or tumbled quartz , along the beaches. These they considered to have supernatural powers and used them for trading with other tribes, as well as with European settlers. Colonial settlers were eager to trade with

297-760: A Swedish log blockhouse located on Society Hill in Philadelphia in 1669. It was later used as a church until about 1700, when Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church of Philadelphia was built on the site. The start of the Third Anglo-Dutch War resulted in the Dutch recapture of New Netherland in August 1673. They restored the status which predated the English capture, and codified it in the establishment of three counties: Hoarkill County , New Amstel County , and Upland County, which

396-823: A description of the removal of the Choctaw Nation in 1831, although the term is usually used for the Cherokee removal. Seventeen thousand Cherokees and 2,000 of their black slaves were deported. The area, already occupied by Osage and Quapaw tribes, was called for the Choctaw Nation until revised Native American and then later American policy redefined the boundaries to include other Native Americans. By 1890, more than 30 Native American nations and tribes had been concentrated on land within Indian Territory or "Indian Country". All Five Civilized Tribes signed treaties with

495-401: A feather or two. The women wore their hair in braids and wore knee-length skirts. Men wore deerskin breechcloth and leggings, but did not generally cover their chests, which, in many cases, were adorned with tattoos . In cold weather, men would cover their chests with deerskin capes. Both sexes wore deerskin moccasins . Warriors shaved their head or wore what would now be considered

594-470: A focal point for the emerging oil industry , as discoveries of oil pools prompted towns to grow rapidly in population and wealth. Tulsa eventually became known as the " Oil Capital of the World " for most of the 20th century and oil investments fueled much of the state's early economy. In 1927, Oklahoman businessman Cyrus Avery , known as the "Father of Route 66", began the campaign to create U.S. Route 66 . Using

693-520: A marked decrease in rainfall during June and early July. Mid-summer (July and August) represents a secondary dry season over much of Oklahoma, with long stretches of hot weather with only sporadic thunderstorm activity not uncommon many years. Severe drought is common in the hottest summers, such as those of 1934, 1954, 1980 and 2011, all of which featured weeks on end of virtual rainlessness and highs well over 100 °F (38 °C). Average precipitation rises again from September to mid-October, representing

792-750: A member of the Königsmarck family, attempted to instigate a rebellion against the British to return New Sweden to Swedish rule. The rebellion, known as the Revolt of the Long Swede due to Jacobsson's height, failed. Jacobsson was sold into slavery in the Caribbean and the families that had supported him were fined for their participation in the revolt. New Sweden continued to exist unofficially, and some immigration and expansion continued. The first settlement at Wicaco began with

891-464: A new governor was selected and arrived from Sweden two years later. The colony expanded along the river under the leadership of Johan Björnsson Printz , governor from 1643 to 1653. They established Fort Nya Elfsborg on the east bank of the Delaware near what is now Salem, New Jersey , and Fort Nya Gothenborg on Tinicum Island . Printz built his manor house, The Printzhof , at Fort Nya Gothenborg, and

990-474: A precise times as each prospective settler literally raced with other prospective settlers to claim ownership of 160 acres (65 ha) of land under the Homestead Act of 1862 . Usually land was claimed by settlers on a first come, first served basis. Those who broke the rules by crossing the border into the territory before the official opening time were said to have been crossing the border sooner , leading to

1089-514: A proprietary colony, separate from the projected colony of New York . The invasion began on August 29, 1664, with the capture of New Amsterdam and ended with the capture of Fort Casimir in October. This took place at the beginning of the Second Anglo-Dutch War . In 1669, New Sweden was under British rule, but most of the population was still Swedish. A man named Marcus Jacobsson, posing as

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1188-521: A rocky point on the Minquas Kill that is known today as Swedes' Landing . They built a fort at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek which they named Fort Christina after their Queen. In the following years, the area was settled by roughly 600 Swedes and Finns , a number of Dutchmen, a few Germans, a Dane, and at least one Estonian . Minuit served as the first governor of

1287-405: A secondary wetter season, then declines from late October through December. The entire state frequently experiences temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) or below 0 °F (−18 °C), though below-zero temperatures are rare in south-central and southeastern Oklahoma. Snowfall ranges from an average of less than 4 in (102 mm) in the south to just over 20 in (508 mm) on

1386-498: A statute authorizing the people of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories (as well what would become the states of Arizona and New Mexico ) to form a constitution and state government in order to be admitted as a state. On November 16, 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation no. 780 , establishing Oklahoma as the 46th state in the Union. The new state became

1485-460: A stretch of highway from Amarillo, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma to form the original portion of Highway 66, Avery spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Highway 66 Association to oversee the planning of Route 66, based in his hometown of Tulsa. In late September 1918, the first cases of the Spanish flu appeared in Oklahoma. Though public health authorities statewide had some indication that the pandemic

1584-628: A thriving area. Social tensions were exacerbated by the revival of the Ku Klux Klan after 1915. The Tulsa race massacre broke out in 1921, with White mobs attacking Black people and carrying out a pogrom in Greenwood. In one of the costliest episodes of racist violence in American history , sixteen hours of rioting resulted in the destruction of 35 city blocks, $ 1.8 million in property damage, and an estimated death toll of between 75 and 300 people. By

1683-631: Is Oklahoma City . The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla , 'people' and humma , which translates as 'red'. Oklahoma is also known informally by its nickname , "The Sooner State", in reference to the Sooners , American settlers who staked their claims in formerly American Indian-owned lands until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 authorized the Land Rush of 1889 opening

1782-621: Is a state in the South Central region of the United States . It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the east, New Mexico to the west, and Colorado to the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South , it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city

1881-458: Is also responsible for many of the tornadoes in the area, such as the 1912 Oklahoma tornado outbreak when a warm front traveled along a stalled cold front, resulting in an average of about one tornado per hour. The humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa ) of central, southern, and eastern Oklahoma is influenced heavily by southerly winds bringing moisture from the Gulf of Mexico . Traveling westward,

1980-558: Is assumed that around 7,500 proved fatal, placing total mortality rates for the state in the area of 7.5%. Oklahoma also has a rich African-American history . Many Black towns, founded by the Freedmen of the Five Tribes during Reconstruction, thrived in the early 20th century with the arrival of Black Exodusters who migrated from neighboring states, especially Kansas. The politician Edward P. McCabe encouraged Black settlers to come to what

2079-741: Is divided between Missouri and Arkansas. The Missouri-Oklahoma border is defined as the Meridian passing through the Kawsmouth, where the Kansas River meets the Missouri River. This is the same Meridian as the Kansas-Missouri border. The Oklahoma-Arkansas border was originally defined by two lines: the borders between Arkansas and the Cherokee and Choctaw Reservations. This formed two diagonal lines meeting at

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2178-519: Is now Wilmington, Delaware , was the first settlement, named after Christina, Queen of Sweden . The settlers were Swedes , Finns , and a number of Dutch. New Sweden was conquered by the Dutch Republic in 1655 during the Second Northern War and incorporated into the Dutch colony of New Netherland . By the middle of the 17th century, Sweden had reached its greatest territorial extent and

2277-501: Is now Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Lenape sachem Mattahoon later claimed that the purchase only included as much land as was contained within an area marked by "six trees", and the rest of the land occupied by the Swedes was stolen. The Director of New Netherland, Willem Kieft , objected to the Swedish presence, but Minuit ignored him since he knew that the Dutch were militarily weak at

2376-626: Is one of the few settlements in the area retaining a Swedish name, and Upland survives as Upland, Pennsylvania . Swedesford Road is still found in Chester and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania, although Swedesford has long since become Norristown . Swedeland, Pennsylvania , is part of Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County . The American Swedish Historical Museum in South Philadelphia houses many exhibits, documents, and artifacts from

2475-538: Is one of the oldest surviving log houses in the United States. The settlers came from all over the Swedish realm. The percentage of Finns in New Sweden grew especially towards the end of the period of colonization. Finns composed 22 percent of the population during Swedish rule, and rose to about 50 percent after the colony came under Dutch rule. A contingent of 140 Finns arrived in 1664. The ship Mercurius sailed to

2574-527: Is serving life in prison without parole for helping plan the attack and prepare the explosive. On May 31, 2016, several cities experienced record setting flooding . On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States determined in McGirt v. Oklahoma that the reservations of the Five Tribes, comprising much of Eastern Oklahoma, were never disestablished by Congress and thus are still "Indian Country" for

2673-640: Is the oldest and largest of nine National Wildlife Refuges in the state and was founded in 1901, encompassing 59,020 acres (238.8 km ). Of Oklahoma's federally protected parks or recreational sites, the Chickasaw National Recreation Area is the largest, with 9,898.63 acres (40.0583 km ). Other sites include the Santa Fe and Trail of Tears national historic trails, the Fort Smith and Washita Battlefield national historic sites, and

2772-540: The American alligator . Oklahoma has fifty-one state parks , six national parks or protected regions, two national protected forests or grasslands , and a network of wildlife preserves and conservation areas. Six percent of the state's 10 million acres (40,000 km ) of forest is public land, including the western portions of the Ouachita National Forest , the largest and oldest national forest in

2871-436: The Choctaw language phrase okla , 'people', and humma , translated as 'red'. Choctaw Nation Chief Allen Wright suggested the name in 1866 during treaty negotiations with the federal US government on the use of Indian Territory . He envisioned an all exclusive American Indian state controlled by the United States bureau of Indian Affairs . Oklahoma later became the de facto name for Oklahoma Territory , and it

2970-558: The Great Plains near the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states . It is bordered on the east by Arkansas and Missouri , on the north by Kansas , on the northwest by Colorado , on the far west by New Mexico , and on the south and near-west by Texas . Oklahoma's border with Kansas was defined as the 37th Parallel in the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act . This was disputed with the Cherokee and Osage Nations, which claimed their border extended North of this line and could not be part of

3069-768: The Kansas Territory . This was resolved in 1870 with the Drum Creek Treaty , which reestablished Kansas's southern border as the 37th parallel. This also applied to the then No-Man's Land that became the Oklahoma Panhandle . The Oklahoma-Texas border consists of the Red River of the South in the south and the 100th meridian west as the western border between Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. These were first established in

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3168-779: The Lenape group, later named the Delaware by some historians. The Lenape nation consisted of three major divisions, or clans: The Kechemeche were part of the Pullaook (Turkey) clan, which reported to the Lenape subchief, termed " sakima ," who resided in the Trenton area. The Kechemeche spoke the Unami dialect of the Delaware languages . Oklahoma Oklahoma ( / ˌ oʊ k l ə ˈ h oʊ m ə / OHK -lə- HOH -mə ; Choctaw : Oklahumma , pronounced [oklahómma] )

3267-476: The Oklahoma City National Memorial . Oklahoma is in a humid subtropical region that lies in a transition zone between semiarid further to the west, humid continental to the north, and humid subtropical to the east and southeast. Most of the state lies in an area known as Tornado Alley characterized by frequent interaction between cold, dry air from Canada, warm to hot, dry air from Mexico and

3366-915: The Ouachita Mountains , the Arbuckle Mountains , the Wichita Mountains , and the Ozark Mountains . Contained within the U.S. Interior Highlands region, the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains are the only major mountainous region between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians . A portion of the Flint Hills stretches into north-central Oklahoma, and near the state's eastern border, The Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department regards Cavanal Hill as

3465-680: The Southern United States . With 39,000 acres (160 km ), the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in north-central Oklahoma is the largest protected area of tallgrass prairie in the world and is part of an ecosystem that encompasses only ten percent of its former land area, once covering fourteen states. In addition, the Black Kettle National Grassland covers 31,300 acres (127 km ) of prairie in southwestern Oklahoma. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

3564-399: The Wichita Mountains dot southwestern Oklahoma ; transitional prairie and oak savannas cover the central portion of the state. The Ozark and Ouachita Mountains rise from west to east over the state's eastern third, gradually increasing in elevation in an eastward direction. More than 500 named creeks and rivers make up Oklahoma's waterways, and with 200 lakes created by dams, it holds

3663-501: The fifty largest cities in the United States are in Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and Tulsa , and sixty-five percent of Oklahomans live within their metropolitan areas, or spheres of economic and social influence defined by the United States Census Bureau as a metropolitan statistical area . Oklahoma City, the state's capital and largest city, had the largest metropolitan area in the state in 2020, with 1,425,695 people, and

3762-606: The metropolitan area of Tulsa had 1,015,331 residents. Between 2000 and 2010, the leading cities in population growth were Blanchard (172.4%), Elgin (78.2%), Jenks (77.0%), Piedmont (56.7%), Bixby (56.6%), and Owasso (56.3%). In descending order of population, Oklahoma's largest cities in 2010 were: Oklahoma City (579,999, +14.6%), Tulsa (391,906, −0.3%), Norman (110,925, +15.9%), Broken Arrow (98,850, +32.0%), Lawton (96,867, +4.4%), Edmond (81,405, +19.2%), Moore (55,081, +33.9%), Midwest City (54,371, +0.5%), Enid (49,379, +5.0%), and Stillwater (45,688, +17.0%). Of

3861-526: The port of Gothenburg in late 1637, organized and overseen by Clas Larsson Fleming , a Swedish admiral from Finland. Blommaert assisted the fitting-out and appointed Peter Minuit (the former Governor of New Netherland ) to lead the expedition. The expedition sailed into Delaware Bay aboard the Fogel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel ; territory that was claimed by the Dutch. They passed Cape May and Cape Henlopen in late March 1638 and anchored on March 29 at

3960-491: The wampum for trading. Since the Kechemeche had access to the Delaware River , they often traveled the river in their bark and dugout canoes in order to trade and communicate with other tribes. Trails led throughout the area, and in the northern part of what is now a county the Kechemeche gathered tuckahoe , a type of root, which they converted into a substance that served as flour . Visiting other tribes, some distant,

4059-467: The (higher-elevation) panhandle average 58 °F (14 °C), with annual rainfall under 17 in (430 mm). Over almost all of Oklahoma, winter is the driest season. Average monthly precipitation increases dramatically in the spring to a peak in May, the wettest month over most of the state, with its frequent and not uncommonly severe thunderstorm activity. Early June can still be wet, but most years see

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4158-613: The 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty between the United States and Spain. The Oklahoma panhandle was originally part of the Panhandle of the Republic of Texas, but when Texas joined the Union as a slave state, it could not retain any lands north of 36 degrees 30 minutes, as specified in the Missouri Compromise . The Panhandle existed as a no-man's land until 1907 when Oklahoma acquired the territory upon gaining statehood. Oklahoma's Eastern border

4257-622: The Arkansas River and the Poteau River. This became the site of a smuggling camp called "Coke Hill", noted mostly for its importance in cocaine smuggling. After Petitioning congress to hand over jurisdiction, the 57 acres was given to Arkansas in 1905. The 1985 US Supreme Court Case Oklahoma v. Arkansas decided the land would remain Arkansas, even though the Choctaw had not been notified or asked about

4356-601: The Company of New-Sweden) was founded in 1626 with a mandate to establish colonies between Florida and Newfoundland for the purposes of trade, particularly along the Delaware River. Its charter included Swedish, Dutch, and German stockholders. The directors of the company included Flemish/Dutch merchant Samuel Blommaert . The company sponsored 11 expeditions in 14 separate voyages to Delaware between 1638 and 1655; two were lost. The first Swedish expedition to America sailed from

4455-798: The Confederate military during the American Civil War . The Cherokee Nation had an internal civil war. Slavery in Indian Territory was not abolished until 1866. In the period between 1866 and 1899, cattle ranches in Texas strove to meet the demands for food in eastern cities and railroads in Kansas promised to deliver in a timely manner. Cattle trails and cattle ranches developed as cowboys either drove their product north or settled illegally in Indian Territory. In 1881, four of five major cattle trails on

4554-446: The Delaware River. Minuit landed on the west bank of the river and met with the sachems of the Lenape and Susquehannock . They held a conclave in Minuit's cabin on the Kalmar Nyckel , and he persuaded the Lenape to sign deeds which he had prepared to resolve any issue with the Dutch. The Swedes claimed that the purchase included land on both sides of the South (Delaware) River from the Schuylkill River down to Delaware Bay in what

4653-436: The Dutch plundered houses and killed livestock in the vicinity of the fort. New Sweden was formally incorporated into New Netherland although the Swedish and Finnish settlers were allowed local autonomy. They retained their own militia, religion, court, and lands. This lasted until the English conquest of New Netherland, launched on June 24, 1664. The Duke of York sold New Jersey to John Berkeley and George Carteret to become

4752-402: The English Province of New Jersey continued to grow. The last Kechemeche leader in their traditional lands that the European colonists recorded was King Nummy , who died sometime from 1700–1730. Most Kechemeche eventually migrated westward to area in what is now Pennsylvania and Ohio; remnants would eventually be sent to the Indian Territory much later. The Kechemeche were a tribe in

4851-401: The Kechemeche generally required approximately one square mile for hunting and for providing meat for a family unit. As a result, growth of colonial area eventually caused sufficient conflict that various treaties were found necessary in order to come to final agreement on land use. Despite these treaties, Kechemeche influence waned as colonial ventures such as New Sweden , New Netherland , and

4950-399: The Kechemeche, who provided valuable pelts of beaver, deer, bear and otter in exchange for common European products such as beads, bottles, cook ware, guns, and knives. The Kechemeche, like other members of the Lenni Lenape, believed that land was to be used, not owned, which created a philosophical conflict, as well as misunderstandings, between the Kechemeche and the settlers. In addition,

5049-706: The Mississippi River, a route for cattle drives from Texas and related regions, and a destination for Southern settlers. There are currently 26 Indigenous languages spoken in Oklahoma . According to the 2020 U.S. census, 14.2 percent of Oklahomans identify as American Indians , the highest indigenous population by percentage in any state. A major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas . The name Oklahoma comes from

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5148-408: The New Sweden colony. Perhaps the greatest contribution of New Sweden to the development of the New World is the log house building technique. The colonists of New Sweden brought with them the log cabin , which became such an icon of the American frontier that it is commonly thought of as an American structure. The C. A. Nothnagle Log House on Swedesboro-Paulsboro Road in Gibbstown, New Jersey ,

5247-509: The Southwestern U.S., and warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. The interactions between these three contrasting air currents produces severe weather (severe thunderstorms, damaging thunderstorm winds, large hail and tornadoes) with a frequency virtually unseen anywhere else on planet Earth. An average 62 tornadoes strike the state per year—one of the highest rates in the world. Because of Oklahoma's position between zones of differing prevailing temperature and winds, weather patterns within

5346-520: The Swedish colony prospered for a time. New Sweden established a strong trading relationship with the Susquehannock and supported them in their war against Maryland colonists. In 1651, the Dutch West India Company abandoned Fort Nassau and established Fort Casimir on the west side of the Delaware River a few miles south of Fort Christina. In May 1654, soldiers from New Sweden led by Governor Johan Risingh captured Fort Casimir and renamed it Fort Trinity ( Trefaldigheten in Swedish). In November 1654,

5445-438: The U.S. In 1995, Oklahoma City was the site of the most destructive act of domestic terrorism in American history. The Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995, in which Timothy McVeigh detonated a large, crude explosive device outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building , killed 168 people, including 19 children. For his crime, McVeigh was executed by the federal government on June 11, 2001. His accomplice, Terry Nichols ,

5544-497: The U.S. government, along with other Lenape (Delaware) tribes, where their descendants remain to this day. The colonial settlers described the Kechemeche as a robust, healthy people, who hunted and grew crops, such as corn , squash , and beans . In Kechemeche society, women did the growing of crops, the cooking and other household and child-rearing chores, while the men were generally responsible for maintaining security and for providing meat for their families through hunting. Since

5643-432: The acts was the forced assimilation of Indians into white society. Land not allotted to individual Indians was owned by the U.S. government and sold or distributed to settlers and railroads. The proceeds of the land sales were used to educate Indian children and advance the policy of assimilation. As a result of the two acts about one-half of land previously owned by Indian tribes was owned by whites by 1900. Moreover, much of

5742-516: The assimilation of New Sweden into New York was the extension of the Duke's laws into the region on September 22, 1676. This was followed by the partition of some Upland Counties to conform to the borders of Pennsylvania and Delaware, with most of the Delaware portion going to New Castle County on November 12, 1678. The remainder of Upland continued in place under the same name. On June 21, 1680, New Castle and Hoarkill Counties were partitioned to produce St. Jones County. On March 4, 1681, what had been

5841-399: The border of Colorado in the panhandle. The state is home to the Storm Prediction Center , the National Severe Storms Laboratory , the Warning Decision Training Division , and the Radar Operations Center , all part of the National Weather Service and in Norman . Oklahoma had 598 incorporated places in 2010, including four cities over 100,000 in population and 43 over 10,000. Two of

5940-492: The climate transitions progressively toward a semiarid zone (Köppen BSk ) in the high plains of the Panhandle and other western areas from about Lawton westward, less frequently touched by southern moisture. Precipitation and temperatures decline from east to west accordingly, with areas in the southeast averaging an annual temperature of 62 °F (17 °C) and an annual rainfall of generally over 40 in (1,020 mm) and up to 56 in (1,420 mm), while areas of

6039-528: The colony in 1665, and 92 of the 106 passengers were listed as Finns. Memory of the early Finnish settlement lived on in place names near the Delaware River such as Finland (Marcus Hook), Torne, Lapland, Finns Point , Mullica Hill, and Mullica River. A portion of these Finns were known as Forest Finns , people of Finnish descent who had been living in the forest areas of Central Sweden. The Forest Finns had moved from Savonia in Eastern Finland to Dalarna , Bergslagen and other provinces in central Sweden during

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6138-399: The colony of New Sweden was formally partitioned into the colonies of Delaware and Pennsylvania. The border was established 12 miles north of New Castle, and the northern limit of Pennsylvania was set at 42 degrees north latitude. The eastern limit was the border with New Jersey at the Delaware River, while the western limit was undefined. In June 1681, Upland ceased to exist as the result of

6237-400: The colony of New Sweden. He had been the third Director of New Netherland, and he knew that the Dutch claimed the area surrounding the Delaware River and its bay. The Dutch West India Company , however, had withdrawn its settlers from the area in order to concentrate on the settlement on Manhattan Island , leaving Fort Nassau on the east side of the Delaware River as the only Dutch outpost on

6336-478: The deer carcass provided other products such as leather , horns , and so on. The Kechemeche lived in villages consisting of wigwams , as opposed to teepees . If the village was large enough it could contain a wooden longhouse and even defensive palisades . During leisure hours, tribe members performed beading and weaving , creating products which could be used in trade with other tribes. They also created wampum out of white and purple shell beads, and used

6435-459: The descendants of the early Swedish immigrants to New Sweden in the mid-18th century and documented their experiences with the Native American Indians who resided in those parts, in a book entitled Travels into North America . Historian H. Arnold Barton has suggested that the greatest significance of New Sweden was the strong and lasting interest in America that the colony generated in Sweden, although major Swedish immigration did not occur until

6534-400: The directors of the Dutch West India Company ordered the Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant , to "drive" the Swedes from the river. In the summer of 1655, Stuyvesant sailed to Delaware Bay with 7 ships and 317 soldiers and quickly retook Fort Casimir (Fort Trinity). Stuyvesant then proceeded to besiege Fort Christina which surrendered on September 15, 1655. During the siege,

6633-415: The land allotted to individual Indian heads of families became white-owned. Allottees often sold or were fraudulently deprived of their land. The acquisition of tribal lands by the U.S. government led to land runs , also called "land rushes," from 1887 and 1895. Major land runs, including the Land Rush of 1889 , opened up millions of acres of formerly tribal lands to white settlement. The "rushes" began at

6732-404: The land to settlement. With ancient mountain ranges, prairie, mesas , and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains , Cross Timbers , and the U.S. Interior Highlands , all regions prone to severe weather. Oklahoma is at a confluence of three major American cultural regions . Historically, it served as a government-sanctioned territory for American Indians moved from east of

6831-544: The late 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan had declined to negligible influence within the state. During the 1930s, parts of the state began to suffer from the consequences of poor farming practices. This period was known as the Dust Bowl , throughout which areas of Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and northwestern Oklahoma were hampered by long periods of little rainfall, strong winds, abnormally high temperatures, and most notably, severe dust storms sending thousands of farmers into poverty and forcing them to relocate to more fertile areas of

6930-556: The late 19th century. From 1870 to 1910, more than one million Swedes arrived in America, settling particularly in Minnesota and other states of the Upper Midwest . Traces of New Sweden persist in the lower Delaware valley, including Holy Trinity Church in Wilmington, Delaware , Gloria Dei Church and St. James Kingsessing Church in Philadelphia, Trinity Episcopal Church in Swedesboro, New Jersey , and Christ Church in Swedesburg, Pennsylvania . All of those churches are commonly known as "Old Swedes' Church". Christiana, Delaware ,

7029-419: The low wetlands of its southeastern boundary. Its highest and lowest points follow this trend, with its highest peak, Black Mesa , at 4,973 feet (1,516 m) above sea level, situated near its far northwest corner in the Oklahoma Panhandle . The state's lowest point is on the Little River near its far southeastern boundary near the town of Idabel , which dips to 289 feet (88 m) above sea level. Among

7128-566: The lower reaches of the Delaware River between 1638 and 1655 in present-day Delaware , Maryland , New Jersey , and Pennsylvania in the United States . Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great power , New Sweden formed part of the Swedish efforts to colonize the Americas . Settlements were established on both sides of the Delaware River. Fort Christina , located in what

7227-539: The moment. Minuit completed Fort Christina, then sailed for Stockholm to bring a second group of settlers. He made a detour to the Caribbean to pick up a shipment of tobacco to sell in Europe in order to make the voyage profitable; however, he died on this voyage during a hurricane at St. Christopher in the Caribbean. The official duties of the governor of New Sweden were carried out by Captain Måns Nilsson Kling , until

7326-515: The most geographically diverse states, Oklahoma is one of four to harbor more than 10 distinct ecological regions , with 11 in its borders—more per square mile than in any other state. Its western and eastern halves, however, are marked by extreme differences in geographical diversity: Eastern Oklahoma touches eight ecological regions and its western half contains three. Although having fewer ecological regions Western Oklahoma contains many rare, relic species. Oklahoma has four primary mountain ranges:

7425-617: The nation's highest number of artificial reservoirs. Most of the state lies in two primary drainage basins belonging to the Red and Arkansas Rivers, though the Lee and Little Rivers also contain significant drainage basins. Due to Oklahoma's location at the confluence of many geographic regions, the state's climatic regions have a high rate of biodiversity. Forests cover 24 percent of Oklahoma and prairie grasslands composed of shortgrass, mixed-grass, and tallgrass prairie , harbor expansive ecosystems in

7524-484: The nation's largest prairie dog towns inhabit shortgrass prairie in the state's panhandle. The Cross Timbers , a region transitioning from prairie to woodlands in Central Oklahoma, harbors 351 vertebrate species . The Ouachita Mountains are home to black bear , red fox , gray fox , and river otter populations, which coexist with 328 vertebrate species in southeastern Oklahoma. Also in southeastern Oklahoma lives

7623-744: The purposes of criminal law. Later decisions by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals also found the Quapaw Nation, Ottawa Tribe, Peoria Tribe, and Miami Tribe also had existing reservations. The Osage Nation is awaiting for a possible appellate decision after a district judge had ruled that the Osage reservation was disestablished. Oklahoma is the 20th-largest state in the United States, covering an area of 69,895 square miles (181,030 km ), with 68,591 square miles (177,650 km ) of land and 1,304 square miles (3,380 km ) of water. It lies partly in

7722-660: The reorganization of the Colony of Pennsylvania, with the Upland government becoming the government of Chester County, Pennsylvania. On August 24, 1682, the Duke of York transferred the western Delaware River region to William Penn, including Delaware, thus transferring Deale County and St. Jones County from New York to Delaware. St. Jones County was renamed Kent County , Deale County was renamed Sussex County , and New Castle County retained its name. Swedish explorer and botanist Pehr Kalm visited

7821-427: The state can vary widely over relatively short distances, and they can change drastically in a short time. On November 11, 1911, the temperature at Oklahoma City reached 83 °F (28 °C) (the record high for that date), then a cold front of unprecedented intensity slammed across the state, causing the temperature to reach 17 °F (−8 °C) (the record low for that date) by midnight. This type of phenomenon

7920-583: The state in 1541, but French explorers claimed the area in the early 18th century. By the 18th century, Comanche and Kiowa entered the region from the west and Quapaw and Osage peoples moved into what is now eastern Oklahoma. French colonists claimed the region until 1803, when all the French territory west of the Mississippi River was acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase . The territory

8019-518: The state's southeastern quarter , while mixtures of largely post oak , elm , red cedar ( Juniperus virginiana ), and pine forests cover northeastern Oklahoma . The state holds populations of white-tailed deer , mule deer , antelope , coyotes , mountain lions , bobcats , elk , and birds such as quail , doves , cardinals , bald eagles , red-tailed hawks , and pheasants . In prairie ecosystems, American bison , greater prairie chickens , badgers , and armadillo are common, and some of

8118-643: The state's central and western portions, although cropland has largely replaced native grasses. Where rainfall is sparse in the state's western regions, shortgrass prairie and shrublands are the most prominent ecosystems, though pinyon pines , red cedar ( junipers ), and ponderosa pines grow near rivers and creek beds in the panhandle's far western reaches. Southwestern Oklahoma contains many rare, disjunct species , including sugar maple , bigtooth maple , nolina , and Texas live oak . Marshlands , cypress forests, and mixtures of shortleaf pine , loblolly pine , blue palmetto , and deciduous forests dominate

8217-472: The state's ten largest cities, three are outside the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and only Lawton has a metropolitan statistical area of its own as designated by the United States Census Bureau, though the metropolitan statistical area of Fort Smith, Arkansas extends into the state. New Sweden New Sweden ( Swedish : Nya Sverige ) was a colony of the Swedish Empire along

8316-587: The state, with a subgroup, the Panhandle culture people, living in the panhandle region. Caddoan Mississippian culture peoples lived in the eastern part of the state. Spiro Mounds , in what is now Spiro, Oklahoma , was a major Mississippian mound complex that flourished between AD 850 and 1450. Plains Apache people settled in the Southern Plains and in Oklahoma between 1300 and 1500. The expedition of Spaniard Francisco Vázquez de Coronado traveled through

8415-639: The term sooners , which eventually became the state's official nickname. George Washington Steele was appointed the first governor of the territory of Oklahoma in 1890. Attempts to create an all-Indian state named Oklahoma and a later attempt to create an all-Indian state named Sequoyah failed but the Sequoyah Statehood Convention of 1905 eventually laid the groundwork for the Oklahoma Statehood Convention, which took place two years later. On June 16, 1906, Congress enacted

8514-587: The territory being handed over. Therefore, the Poteau River serves as the Oklahoma-Arkansas boundary for approximately 1 mile, reducing the Choctaw Reservation and later Oklahoma by 57 acres as established in the treaties of the early 1800s. Oklahoma is between the Great Plains and the Ozark Plateau in the Gulf of Mexico watershed, generally sloping from the high plains of its western boundary to

8613-454: The three counties which they created. After taking stock, the English declared on November 11 that settlements on the west side of the Delaware River and Delaware Bay were to be dependent on the Province of New York , including the three Counties. This declaration was followed by a declaration that renamed New Amstel as New Castle. The other counties retained their Dutch names. The next step in

8712-581: The tribe was located so close to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay , the netting and trapping of fish and clamming formed part of their occupation. Deer and small game were plentiful in the local pine forests, and the Kechemeche hunters would trap and kill the deer by setting fires to the underbrush to drive the deer into pre-arranged traps, where they would be killed and used as fresh meat or preserved through smoking or salting. Also,

8811-564: The western United States. Over a twenty-year period ending in 1950, the state saw its only historical decline in population, dropping 6.9 percent as impoverished families migrated out of the state after the Dust Bowl. Soil and water conservation projects markedly changed practices in the state, leading to the construction of massive flood control systems and dams to supply water for domestic needs and agricultural irrigation. As of 2024, Oklahoma had more than 4,700 dams, about 20% of all dams in

8910-521: The western edge of Fort Smith Arkansas, with one line running northeast from the Red River and the other running southeast from the Oklahoma-Arkansas-Missouri border. The Choctaw-Arkansas border was established in the 1820 Treaty of Doak's Sand , and later refined in the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek . These treaties left a 57-acre exclave of the Choctaw reservation bounded by Arkansas,

9009-579: The western frontier traveled through Indian Territory. Increased presence of white settlers in Indian Territory and their demand for land owned and guaranteed to Indian tribes by treaties with the U.S. government prompted the United States to enact the Dawes Act in 1887 and the Curtis Act of 1898 . The acts abolished tribal governments, eliminated tribal ownership of land, and allotted 160 acres (65 ha) of land to each head of an Indian family. An objective of

9108-530: The world's tallest hill; at 1,999 feet (609 m), it fails their definition of a mountain by one foot. The semi-arid high plains in the state's northwestern corner harbor few natural forests; the region has a rolling to flat landscape with intermittent canyons and mesa ranges like the Glass Mountains . Partial plains interrupted by small, sky island mountain ranges like the Antelope Hills and

9207-658: Was a part of the Arkansas Territory from 1819 until 1828. During the 19th century, the U.S. federal government forcibly removed tens of thousands of American Indians from their ancestral homelands from across North America and transported them to the area including and surrounding present-day Oklahoma. The Choctaw was the first of the Five Civilized Tribes to be removed from the Southeastern United States . The phrase " Trail of Tears " originated from

9306-430: Was important for the Kechemeche, since story telling was an important element of entertainment in the Kechemeche lifestyle. Because of the tribe's isolation and lack of a written historical or contemporary record, news or gossip of happenings in other tribes, as well as tales of their own ancestors , was always welcomed by all members of the tribe. Kechemeche men wore minimal headdress , with perhaps some beads and only

9405-409: Was later partitioned between New Castle County, Delaware, and the Colony of Pennsylvania. The three counties were created on September 12, 1673, the first two on the west shore of the Delaware River and the third on both sides of the river. The Treaty of Westminster of 1674 ended the second period of Dutch control and required them to return all of New Netherland to the English on June 29, including

9504-469: Was officially approved in 1890, two years after that area was opened to American settlers . Indigenous peoples were present in what is now Oklahoma by the last ice age . Ancestors of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (including Teyas and Escanjaques and Tawakoni ), Tonkawa , and Caddo (including Kichai ) lived in what is now Oklahoma. Southern Plains villagers lived in the central and west of

9603-684: Was one of the great powers of Europe; it was the stormaktstiden ("age of greatness" or "great power period"). Sweden then included Finland and Estonia , along with parts of modern Russia , Poland , Germany , Norway and Latvia under King Gustavus Adolphus and later Queen Christina . Other European nations were establishing colonies in the New World and building successful trading empires at this time. The Swedes sought to expand their influence by creating their own tobacco plantation and fur-trading colony to circumvent French, English and Dutch merchants. The Swedish South Company (also known as

9702-473: Was then Indian Territory. McCabe discussed with President Theodore Roosevelt the possibility of making Oklahoma a majority-Black state. By the early 20th century, the Greenwood district of Tulsa was one of the most prosperous African-American communities in the United States. Jim Crow laws had established racial segregation since before the start of the 20th century, but Tulsa's Black residents had created

9801-509: Was westward, the turmoil caused by the rapid advancement of the disease quickly overwhelmed both health workers and local governing bodies. In Oklahoma City, shortages of both supplies and personnel were mitigated, in part, by the mobilization of the American Red Cross. Rough estimates based on contemporary reports indicate that approximately 100,000 people fell ill with the disease before the pandemic ebbed in 1919. Of those 100,000 cases, it

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