Before the Founding of Lawton

Land Lottery and Auction

Game

Teaching Materials

Credits

The filing of claims closed October 4th.  The land lottery ended with the last stokes of the clock at midnight. Clerks at the land offices counted the claims on December 31st. The final count was 7,737 claims filed at Lawton. And 6,843 claims were filed at El Reno. The homestead laws told what the settlers had to do to "prove" their claims. All settlers had to make homes on their claims within six months.  Not all of them did.

The Lawton newspaper printed a warning on January 21, 1902.  The Daily Republican warned all homesteaders to be on their claims.  If they were not on their claims by February 6th, they could lose the free land they had won.

Some 1,362 homesteads were left unclaimed.  Some people had not followed the rules.  They were not allowed to file their claims.  Other people failed to show up and claim their homesteads.  These unassigned lands were opened for settlement.  A small-scale land rush took place on October 4th. 

This was the last land rush--the frontier in American was gone.