The container IS NOT at the posted coordinates. But they are available here.
This geoart series will be somewhat different from others. Because of our interest in the Oklahoma Land Run we've compiled quite a bit of history from the Oklahoma Historical society. It's loosely laid out in a chronological order through the series from the O to the L finally to the R. The Oklahoma outline portion of the art will be general history questions and state facts. We hope you enjoy the history lesson and journey.
Many women, both white and African American, participated in the Land Run of 1889. They were also lured by promises of inexpensive land and further opportunities. Married women followed their husbands, sometimes unhappily, to what was considered the uncivilized frontier. Single and widowed women also made the race themselves for the same reasons. The Homestead Act stated, in regards to gender, that women must be single or widowed, at least twenty-one years of age, and the head of household to claim a homestead. Upon arriving and staking a claim, women worked alongside men to build their homes and begin their farms. Along with taking care of any children, they also labored to take care of a household, often within a primal sod home and without the same conveniences of their former lives in the East. The women were forced to be versatile, using what they could find to keep their homes. For example, they gathered cow chips to burn for cooking; chased out intruding mice, snakes, and bugs; and cooked while sometimes having to shield falling dirt and mud from the food. They also served as mediators, politicians, leaders, and teachers until towns could be established.
Continued in Chapter 18.
Material and photos courtesy of: Oklahoma Historical Society Research Center
N 35 17.764, W 096 31.653