Home |   For Kids |   E-exhibits |  Glossary

The Land Run of 1889


allotment: A piece of land given or obtained by an individual or family.

boomers: Settlers, like David Payne, who tried to live on land that was not open to the public.

claim: Piece of land obtained in the land run.

communal: The sharing of ownership or resources.

conveniences: Tools or technology that make life easier.

cow chips: Pieces of manure that were often burned for warmth by pioneers on the Great Plains.

frontier: Wilderness or areas with few settlers or towns.

homesteaders: Pioneers or people who live in sparsely populated areas that require self-sufficiency.

improvements: Building a home, barn, shop, etc., on one's land claim to prove that they were using it appropriately.

proclamation: A public or official announcement.

public domain: Belonging to the state or national government.

reservation: A area where many American Indians were confined along with other tribal members before the Dawes Act divided Indian land into individual allotments.

settlers: A person who lives in an area with few people.

sod home: A sort of hut made with walls of dirt and mud or dug out of the side of a hill.

treaties: Written agreements between parties or people.

unoccupied: Empty.

widow: A woman whose husband has died.