On September 11, 1893, thousands of Americans gathered in this township preparing to make the run for homesteads in the Cherokee Strip, a tract of land 58 miles wide that opened 6,500,000 acres for White settlement after the U.S. Government bought it from the Cherokee Nation for $8,300,000. President Grover Cleveland and Secretary of the Interior Hoke Smith arranged for 9 canvas booths to be placed within 100 ft. of the Kansas State Line, where each eager American had to make 7 affidavits and declarations to register. At noon on September 16, 1893, more than 100,000 people took part in what was called the greatest race in the history of the world. Later, at 4 Land Offices located at Perry, Enid, Alva, and Woodward, each settler paid about $2 an acre for his claim.