The Redbud City: It happened in March
Clyde Wooldridge
Contributing writer
1889 - Even though Shawnee was not part of the original land run in Oklahoma of 1889, it set the stage for the second, that would follow in just a couple of years. On February 27, 1889, Illinois representative William M. Springer added section 13 to the annual Indian Appropriation bill which authorized President Grover Cleveland to open the lands to settlement through issuance of a proclamation.
Known as the Springer Amendment, this rider authorized settlement under the provisions of the Homestead Act of 1862, and it denied the original settlers their squatter’s rights. They were to be expelled and the lands were to be settled by a land run. The Act as amended was signed into law by President Cleveland on March 2, 1889. During his third week in office, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation on March 23, 1889 to settle the 1,887,796 acres.
The Redbud City: Redbud City forces into the 1940s
Clyde Wooldridge
Contributing writer
Shawnee made it through the 1930s with a few scrapes and bruises but survived the “Hard Times.” The decade produced a lot of “good guys” and “bad guys.” The depression hit the city hard and many families suffered, but the community was resilient and reached out in many ways to help the needy.
The city saw a big facelift during the 10 years of the 1930s, with the rise of the courthouse, the municipal auditorium, the city lake, and a few others. However, according to the 1940 U.S. Census there were 22,053 people living in Shawnee, 95 percent of which were American born. This was a five percent decrease from the 1930 Census.
The Redbud City: Hard times continued in Shawnee in 1939
Clyde Wooldridge
HOTEL GAMING LOUNGE RAIDED
A full truck load of furniture and equipment from a modernistic bar and gambling lounge on the ninth floor of the Aldridge Hotel was stored in the basement of the police station Thursday, April 13, 1939. This followed a gambling raid by police and sheriff deputies.
Only two arrests were made. C.C. Coulston was booked at the police station, as was N.B. Miller, an employee of the lounge. Led by Chief F.A. Budd, officers raided a suite of rooms on the top floor of the hotel about 9:30 p.m. Other officers on the raid were Sam Martin, Bill Miller, and Mark Frazier.
The Redbud City: It happened in February
Clyde Wooldridge
Contributing writer
1851 - The Indian Appropriations Act was the name of several acts passed by the Congress. A considerable number of acts were passed under the same name throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. From the outset, the most notable landmark of the acts was the one of 1851.
The official name was the “Appropriation Bill for Indian Affairs,” passed on Feb. 27, 1851. The act allocated funds to move western tribes onto reservations. Reservations were protected and enclosed by the federal government. According to the government at that time, reservations were created to protect the Native Americans from the growing encroachment of whites moving westward. This act set the precedent for modern-day Native American reservations.
Clyde Wooldridge
JIM THORPE HOME TO VOTE ON INDIAN ACT
Jim Thorpe, famous Native American athlete, stormed into Native American politics on Saturday, Dec. 4, 1937, as he once did on the football gridiron. The former world’s decathlon champion and football All-American shifted quickly into political phrases as he returned to his hometown to denounce provisions of the Thomas-Rogers Indian Act. He urged against adoption of a separate constitution by the Sac & Fox tribe, of which he was a member.
“They want us to go back to the blanket,” shouted Thorpe as he electioneered among fellow tribe members for the defeat of the constitution in a tribal vote on Tuesday, Dec. 7.