1084 - Town Lot Auction Site

Things were quite different in 1901. At that time, Fort Sill had been established for over thirty years. The Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache lands were on the brink of being opened to settlement, a process that, in the past, had resulted in a veritable wild scramble, complete with utter disregard for law and order. In an attempt to avoid chaos, an auction was planned to dole out lots in the 320-acre townsite. By sale day on August 6, 1901, nearly 25,000 people had arrived to bid on the 1,200 lots for sale. In blistering heat, the auctioneer took his place on a packing crate and began calling for bids. The first business lot sold was located at the corner of B Avenue and Railroad Street. The highest selling lot went for $4,555, which is equivalent to roughly $161,000 today. By the end of the month, all lots had been sold. Simultaneous with the auction a lottery was being held at Fort Sill to distribute homesteads in the former Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache lands. Unlike earlier Oklahoma land openings, there was no land run for the 1901 opening.

The distribution of homesteads required a land office for registering and payment of fees. Established in Lawton, it was a modest, wooden building, constructed in the middle of the lot at 3rd Street and D Avenue. Posted inside was a huge land map, showcasing available homesteads.

Prior to August 6, when the lands were opened for settlement, thousands of folks had arrived near Lawton. Some came on their own intuition, some were lured by turn-of-the-century media hyperbole, declaring this the land of milk and honey, the Promised Land of Oklahoma. During the nights of early August, hundreds of campfires could be seen in every direction, twinkling like giant fire-flies. Wagon loads of people had been arriving steadily, many travelers having encountered troubling circumstances on their trip to southwestern Oklahoma.

When the sun rose on August 6, 1901, folks were desperate to claim their own land and start a new life near Lawton. With James Maguire serving as the receiver and Major H.D. McKnight as the registrar, the Lawton Land Office opened for business at 9:00 AM, almost certainly to a line of prospective buyers out the door. On that first day, 117 homestead entries were filed and many others in the days that followed. The office closed on January 2, 1912. Lawton’s population had grown to over 7,700 residents in a little more than a decade.