Pioneer Monuments in Oklahoma
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Description
Driving or heritage tour of pioneer-themed monuments in Oklahoma.
1. Pioneer Man
Life-sized bronze sculpture by Rich Muno erected to commemorate the perseverance of Oklahoma homesteaders. Dedicated as part of local US Bicentennial celebration in 1976.
2. Pioneer Man and Woman statues
Statues placed in front of the 1993 Woods County Centennial Wall to mark the centennial of Oklahoma statehood in 2007. Local artist Calvin L. Graybill sculpted a man and woman staking their land claim. In contrast to other Oklahoma pioneer monuments erected around the same time, Graybill portrayed each figure separately on its own base.
3. Land of Hope
Bronze monument commemorating the centennial of the 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run. In contrast to other Oklahoma land run monuments that focused on homeseekers rushing in to stake their claim, local artist Bernadette Carman portrayed a couple gazing out over their chosen homestead.
4. Pioneer Woman Museum
Opened in 1958, the Pioneer Woman Museum is dedicated to women who have contributed to Oklahoma's development. In addition to displays of everyday household items used by pioneer women, the museum features an exhibit dedicated to women journalists and a Walk of Fame showcasing Oklahoma women who broke new ground. Craft demonstrations and special exhibits are also held in the facility. The museum sits adjacent to the 30-foot bronze Pioneer Woman statue unveiled in 1930.
5. Centennial Statue
Monument commemorating the centennial of the 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run. The original title of the work, "This Land is Mine," was stripped from the work in response to protest from the local Native American community, who objected to the title's suggestion that white settlers were justified in taking Native lands.
6. Boomer
Bronze monument portraying an Oklahoma settler on horseback rushing to stake his land claim as part of the 1889 land run that opened the Cherokee Strip to white settlement. It is one of a series of monuments commemorating the settlement of the Cherokee Strip by sculptor Harold T. Holden.
7. Holding the Claim
Sculpture depicting a land rush settler camping out with his horse to stake his land claim. Part of a series of sculptures by Harold T. "H" Holden depicting Cherokee Strip history.
8. The Homesteaders
One of several monuments erected to mark Oklahoma's statehood centennial in 2007. While most other centennial monuments focus on the excitement of Oklahoma land rushes, local artist Harold T. Holden sculpted a homesteading family to stand in front of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center.
9. Hopes and Dreams
Centennial monument portraying the excitement of the 1893 Cherokee Strip land rush. It is one of several land run or state centennial monuments erected in Oklahoma in the 1990s and early 2000s.
10. Statehood
Bronze monument erected in 1977 to mark the 70th anniversary of the creation of the state of Oklahoma. It depicts a white cowboy marrying an Indigenous woman. It portrayed the melding of white settlement with the former Indian Territory achieved at statehood.
11. Leaping Into History Monument
This statue, entitled “Leaping Into History,” was dedicated in 2007 and commemorates Oklahoma settler Nanitta R. H. Daisey who was a participant in the first Oklahoma Land Run on April 22, 1889. Known at the time as "Kentucky Daisey," Nanitta Daisey made newspaper headlines across the country when she leaped from a train to beat others to claim a plot of land. Using stakes and her petticoat, she marked off this land just north of Edmond Station. This statue was erected in 2007 as one of the official Oklahoma Centennial Projects, commissioned as a statewide celebration of Oklahoma’s 100th birthday. Kentucky Daisey’s daring leap into the Unassigned Lands exemplifies the pioneer spirit and an exciting event at the founding of Oklahoma. the statue also serves as a reminder of the way lands that had been promised to Native peoples were later claimed by white settlers through the actions of the federal government.
12. Pioneers of 1889
Monument depicting the 1889 Land Run in which mostly white settlers rushed in to claim "Unassigned Lands" in what was then Indian Territory. This statue and several others that followed in northern Oklahoma focus on the excitement of the "land runs," which sets them apart from pioneer monuments elsewhere in the United States.
13. Centennial Land Run Monument
The Centennial Land Run Monument commemorates the transfer of land that had been promised to Native American tribes to the federal government, and the subsequent decision by the government to open those lands to white settlers. The first of three land rushes occurred in 1889 when Indian Territory became Oklahoma Territory and would-be settlers were invited to stake their claims simply by being the first to reach and thereby"claim" a section of land. The monument consists of 45 larger-than-life bronze statues, depicting the settlers in various action poses, frozen in time. The first statue was placed in 2003 and the final one in 2015.
14. Pioneer Classroom
Monument depicting a frontier schoolteacher accompanied by her students. It was dedicated "to the pioneers and educators of the State of Oklahoma" in 1999. Public monuments to pioneer women often honor them as teachers or informal educators of their own children.
15. Pioneer Family and Rooster
2002 Broken Arrow city centennial monument portraying local history and culture. It emphasizes the mixing of Native American and white cultures and local agricultural industry. The portrayal of a husband, wife, and their young son echoes other postwar pioneer family monuments.
