On April 22, 1889, the federal government opened the unassigned lands in central Oklahoma for settlement.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Norman was a bustling frontier town that quickly mature.
Tents soon gave way to wooden shacks and, finally, two-story brick buildings.
From their tents on Norman\'s Main Street, businessmen started to sell their wares.
Entrepreneurs, cattlemen, and farmers, all seeking new opportunities, anxiously staked their claim to town lots and 160-acre homesteads.
On April 22, 1889, the federal government opened the unassigned lands in central Oklahoma for settlement