At precisely high noon, thousands of would-be settlers made
a mad dash into the newly opened Oklahoma Territory to claim       
cheap land.

The nearly two million acres of land opened up to white
settlement was located in Indian Territory, a large area that
once encompassed much of modern-day Oklahoma.

Initially considered unsuitable for white colonization, Indian
Territory was thought to be an ideal place to relocate Native
Americans who were removed from their traditional lands to
make way for white settlement.