Oklahoma Holidays

Oklahoma holidays

The cosmopolitan city of Tulsa features cultural institutions such as the Gilcrease Museum, with its large collection of Frederic Remington bronze sculptures, and the Philbrook Museum, housed in the former mansion of an oil magnate. Tulsa's Woody Guthrie Centre honours the life of the iconic folk singer. A long, drivable stretch of historic Route 66 runs through the state, and along the way are classic diners and another Americana. Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge provides a scenic location for camping, hiking and rock climbing. At the foothills of the Ozarks, Lake Tenkiller offers fishing, boating and a scuba-diving park.

The land that today makes up Oklahoma was added to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Throughout the 19th century, the U.S. government relocated Indian tribes from the south eastern United States to the area, and by 1900, over 30 Indian tribes had been moved to what was originally called the Indian Territories. At the same time, ranchers in Texas began to move into the area in search of new pasture lands, and the government eventually opened the land to settlement, creating “land runs” in which settlers could cross the border to claim homesteads. Settlers who broke the law and crossed the border sooner than allowed were called “sooners,” which eventually became the state’s nickname. Oklahoma became the 46th state in 1907, following several acts that incorporated more and more Indian tribal land into U.S. territory. After its inclusion in the union, Oklahoma became a centre for oil production, with much of the state’s early growth coming from that industry. During the 1930s, Oklahoma suffered from droughts and high winds, destroying many farms and creating the infamous Dust Bowl of the Great Depression era.