Oklahoma panhandle: Difference between revisions

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The '''Oklahoma Panhandle''' (formerly called '''No Man's Land''', the '''Public Land Strip''', the '''Neutral Strip''', or ''' Cimarron Territory''') is a [[Salient (geography)|salient]] in the extreme northwestern region of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Oklahoma]],. consistingIt consists of, from west to east, [[Cimarron County, Oklahoma|Cimarron County]], [[Texas County, Oklahoma|Texas County]] and [[Beaver County, Oklahoma|Beaver County]], from west to east. As with other [[salient (geography)|salient]]ssalients in the United States, its name comes from the similarity of its shape to the handle of a pan. Its largest city is [[Guymon, Oklahoma|Guymon]] in Texas County. [[Black Mesa State Park]], located in Cimarron County, is the highest point in the state. Other points of interest include [[Beaver Dunes Park]], [[Optima Lake]], and the [[Optima National Wildlife Refuge]]. [[Oklahoma Panhandle State University]] is ten miles away from Guymon.

The Panhandle, {{convert|166|mi}} long and {{convert|34|mi}} wide, is bordered by [[Kansas]] and [[Colorado]] at [[37th parallel north|37°N]] on the north, [[New Mexico]] at [[103rd meridian west|103°W]] on the west, [[Texas]] at [[Parallel 36°30′ north|36.5°N]] on the south, and the remainder of Oklahoma at [[100th meridian west|100°W]] on the east.

The largest town in the region is [[Guymon, Oklahoma|Guymon]], which is the [[county seat]] of Texas County. [[Black Mesa (Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico)|Black Mesa]], the highest point in Oklahoma at {{convert|4973|ft}}, is located in Cimarron County. The Panhandle occupies nearly all of the true [[High Plains (United States)|High Plains]] within Oklahoma, being the only part of the state lying west of the [[100th meridian west|100th meridian]], which generally marks the westernmost extent of moist air from the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. The [[North Canadian River]] is named Beaver River or Beaver Creek on its course through the Panhandle. Its land area is {{convert|5686|sqmi}} and comprises 8.28 percent of Oklahoma's land area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/geography/ok_geography.htm|title=Oklahoma Geography from NETSTATE|website=www.netstate.com}}</ref> The area includes [[Beaver Dunes Park|Beaver Dunes State Park]] with sand dunes along the Beaver River and [[Optima Lake]], the home of the [[Optima National Wildlife Refuge]].

[[File:No Man's Land Monument.jpg|thumb|No Man's Land Monument, U.S. Highway 64 east of [[Gate, Oklahoma|Gate]] (Oklahoma Panhandle)]]

Shortly before the arrival of European explorers,<ref>{{cite web|title=African Explorers of Spanish America|url=https://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/SpanishAmB.htm |website=Park Ethnography Program|publisher=US National Park Service|access-date=13 April 2015}}</ref> the Panhandle was home to [[Southern Plains villagers]]. From 1200 to 1500 CE, the semi-sedentary [[Panhandle culture]] peoples, including the [[Antelope Creek phase]],<ref name=antelope>{{cite web|last1=Lintz|first1=Christopher|title=Antelope Creek Phase|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bba07|website=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=17 March 2015}}</ref> lived in the region in large, stone-slab and plaster houses in villages or individual homesteads. As horticulturists, they farmed [[maize]] and indigenous crops from the [[Eastern Agricultural Complex]]. Several Antelope Creek phase sites were founded near present-day Guymon, including the McGrath, [[Stamper Sitesite|Stamper]] and Two Sisters sites.<ref name=antelope /> The arrival of horses from Spain in the 16th century, allowed [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian tribes]] to increase their hunting ranges. These Southern Plains villagers became the [[Wichita people|Wichita and Affiliated Tribes]].

The [[Western world|Western]] history of the Panhandle traces its origins as being part of [[New Spain]]. The [[Adams–Onís Treaty]] of 1819 between Spain and the United States set the western boundary of this portion of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] at the 100th meridian. With Mexican independence in 1821, these lands became part of [[Mexico]]. With the formation of the [[Republic of Texas|Texas Republic]], they became part of Texas. When Texas joined the U.S. in 1846, the strip became part of the United States.<ref name="Gibson">Gibson, Arrell M. ''Oklahoma: A History of Five Centuries''. Retrieved May 11, 2013. Available on Google Books.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HiP-sWiqYL4C&pg=PA178&lpg=PA178&dq=%22Oklahoma+Territorial+Government%22&sourcepg=bl&ots=ZqtuUZKEGf&sig=-UBSIGApKYA0WxCSC3tdNdD07O0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=D3mOUem6AYPmiwKn8ICAAw&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22Oklahoma%20Territorial%20Government%22&f=falsePA178]</ref>

When Texas sought to enter the Union in 1845 as a [[Slave states and free states|slave state]], federal law in the United States, based on the [[Missouri Compromise]], prohibited slavery north of 36°30' parallel north latitude. Under the [[Compromise of 1850]], Texas surrendered its lands north of 36°30', latituderather than have a portion of the state as "free" territory. The 170-mile strip of land, a "neutral strip", was left with no state or territorial ownership from 1850 until 1890. It was officially called the "'''Public Land Strip'''" and was commonly referred to as "No Man's Land."<ref>{{cite news |title=Oklahoma Panhandle: Badmen in No Man's Land |url=http://www.historynet.com/oklahoma-panhandle-badmen-in-no-mans-land.htm |access-date=2012-11-30 |newspaper=Wild West magazine |date=2006-06-12}}</ref><ref name="EOHC-NML">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Turner |first=Kenneth R. |title=No Man's Land |url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=NO001 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |access-date=2012-11-30}}</ref>

In 1891, the government completed the survey, and the remaining squatters were finally able to secure their homesteads under the Homestead Act. The new owners were then able to obtain mortgages against their property, enabling them to buy seed and equipment. Capital and new settlers came into the area, and the first railroad, the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Rock Island]], built a line through the county from [[Liberal, Kansas]], to [[Dalhart, Texas]]. Agriculture began changing from subsistence farms to grain exporters.<ref name="EOHC-NML"/>

The Panhandle was severely affected by the drought of the 1930s. The drought began in 1932 and created massive dust storms. By 1935, the area was widely known as being part of the [[Dust Bowl]]. The dust storms were largely a result of poor farming techniques and the plowing up of the native grasses that had held the fine soil in place. Despite government efforts to implement conservation measures and change the basic farming methods of the region, the Dust Bowl persisted for nearly a decade. It contributed significantly to the length of the [[Great Depression]] in the United States.<ref>[http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/ok/es_ok_dustbowl_1.html Library of Congress. "America's Story from America's Library: The Dust Bowl of Oklahoma]." Retrieved July 30, 2013.</ref> Each of the three counties experienced a major loss of population during the 1930s.{{citation needed|date = September 2024}}

The social impact of the dust bowl and the resulting emigration of tenant farmers from the PanhandleOklahoma is the setting for the 1939 novel ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'' by [[Nobel prize]]-winning author [[John Steinbeck]].{{citation needed|date = September 2024}}

===MajorLargest communitiesmunicipalities===

* [[Adams, Oklahoma|Adams]]

* [[Balko, Oklahoma|Balko]]

* [[Felt, Oklahoma|Felt]]

* [[ForganFloris, Oklahoma|ForganFloris]]

* [[Gate, Oklahoma|Gate]]

* [[Hardesty, Oklahoma|Hardesty]]

* [[Kenton, Oklahoma|Kenton]]

* [[Keyes, Oklahoma|Keyes]]

* [[Knowles, Oklahoma|Knowles]]

* [[Optima, Oklahoma|Optima]]

* [[TurpinWheeless, Oklahoma|TurpinWheeless]]

The Panhandle is rather thinly populated (when compared to the rest of Oklahoma) making the labor force in this region very small. Farming and ranching operations occupy most of the economic activity in the region, with ranching dominating the drier western end. The region's higher educational needs are served by [[Oklahoma Panhandle State University]] in Goodwell, 10 miles southwest of Guymon.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dCWjHf71PFgC&pg=PA206&lpg=PA206&dq=Guymon,%2C+the+panhandle's%27s+largest+city&sourcepg=bl&ots=wJW7lHuWAc&sig=EblEhZbW_K8jG6JaECIvpc6Idkc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=m_TbUtuCD5HzoASA44DwAw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=Guymon%2C%20the%20panhandle's%20largest%20city&f=falsePA206 Goins, Charles Robert and Danney Goble. "The Oklahoma Panhandle, 2000." In: ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma''.] Available on Google Books.p. 206. Retrieved January 19. 2014.</ref>

The Oklahoma Panhandle is one of the most universally Republican areas of what has become one of the most Republican states in the nation. Beaver and Texas counties last supported a Democrat for president in 1948, while Cimarron County last supported a Democrat in 1976.<ref name="elect">{{cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=40&f=0&off=99|title=Oklahoma|work=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref> In the [[2020 United States presidential election in Oklahoma|2020 U.S. presidential election]], the three counties gave a weighted average of 85.10% of their votes to [[Donald Trump]] and 13.2% to [[Joe Biden]], with Trump carrying the state over Biden 65.4% to 32.3%.<ref name="elect"/>

* [[Black Mesa State Park]] features a hiking trail to the top of Oklahoma's highest point.

* [[Beaver Dunes State Park]] features massive sand dunes along the Beaver River – located just north of the town of Beaver.

* [[Optima Lake]] is home to the [[Optima National Wildlife Refuge]].

{{reflistReflist}}

* Beck, T.E. "[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v007/v007p168.html Cimarron Territory]," ''Chronicles of Oklahoma'' 7:2 (June 1929) 168–169 (retrieved August 16, 2006).

* [https://www.census.gov Counties of the Oklahoma Panhandle] United States Census Bureau

* Wardell, Morris L. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070630083212/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v001/v001p060.html "The History of No-Man's Land, or Old Beaver County"], ''Chronicles of Oklahoma'' 1:1 (January 1921) 60–89 (retrieved August 16, 2006).

* Christman, Harry E. (editor-original manuscript by Jim Herron). ''Fifty Years on the Owl Hoot Trail: The First Sheriff of No Man's Land, Oklahoma Territory''. Sage Books: Chicago, 1969.

* [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-okla.html Oklahoma article at HighBeam Encyclopedia.com]

* [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-CimarronTe.html Oklahoma Panhandle was formerly called Cimarron Territory]

* [http://www.cimarronbsa.org Cimarron Council of the Boy Scouts of America]

* [http://www.okhistorycenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=30 Oklahoma History Center: Education Programs]

* [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CI005 Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Cimarron Territory]