The first of five Oklahoma Land Runs started at noon April 22, 1889. On March 3, 1889 President Benjamin Harrison declared 1.9 million acres, the present day counties of Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma and Payne, would be open for settlement at noon April 22. No one was supposed to jump the gun. People started lining up seven weeks before the date, and by the start date 50,000 "Boomers" were camped at the borders.
A gun was fired precisely at noon and by nightfall, the towns of Norman, Oklahoma City, Kingfisher, and Guthrie had sprung up. Some people had entered the area before the gun was fired and cases against these "Sooners" clogged up the courts for years.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-oklahoma-land-rush-begins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rush_of_1889
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