Oklahoma City was settled on April 23,
1889, when the area known as the "Unassigned Lands" was opened for
settlement in an event known as "The Land Run". Some 10,000
homesteaders settled the area that would become the capital of Oklahoma. The
town grew quickly; the population doubled between 1890 and 1900. Early leaders
of the development of the city included Anton Classen, John Shartel, Henry
Overholser and James W. Maney.
By the time Oklahoma was admitted to the
Union in 1907, Oklahoma City had surpassed Guthrie, the territorial capital, as
the
