The largest land run in U.S. history occurred as more than 100,000 white settlers rushed to claim over more than 6 million acres of land to claim valuable land that had once belonged to Native Americans in what is now northern Oklahoma. The mad dash began with a single gun shot, and land-hungry pioneers on horseback and in carriages raced forward to stake their claims to the best acres.
Under the provisions of the Homestead Act of 1862, a legal settler could claim 160 acres of public land, and those who lived on and improved the claim for five years could receive a title to the land. More
