Centennial Land Run Monument Project

The Oklahoma Centennial Land Run Monument Project grew out of a long effort to create a major permanent tribute to the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889. The idea began in 1982, when Ray Ackerman and Stanley Draper, Jr., proposed a landmark for the run's 100th anniversary as part of a planned 1989 World's Fair in Oklahoma City, but both plans were later set aside. Interest revived in 1999 when Lee Allan Smith made the monument a keystone element of the 2007 Oklahoma Centennial Commemoration of Statehood and enlisted Oklahoma artist Paul Moore to create a model capturing the energy, chaos, and emotions of the run's opening moments. With support from the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and early funding from Kerr-McGee Corporation, LaDonna and Herman Minders, and Edward L. and Thelma Gaylord, the project moved forward. Oklahoma City officials, including Mayor Kirk Humphries, City Manager Glen Deck, the City Council, Jim Couch, and Paul Brum, backed the effort with funding, planning, site improvements, and maintenance, while Smith and Moore selected a long slope on the Bricktown Canal so the incline and water would enhance the sculpture's sense of movement. Congressman Ernest Istook later became a leading advocate, and Smith and J. Blake Wade secured approval from the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, followed by federal funding in 2004 and state appropriations in 2005 and 2006. Through decades of advocacy, public support, and private and governmental funding, the project culminated in a monumental bronze sculpture honoring the settlers of April 22, 1889 and the modern supporters whose dedication brought the work to completion.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma · United States