Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-09-28
ENID, OKLAHOMA,
One Year Old and Has Five thousand
Population.
"Cherokee Strip" Banner City, Already the Third
in Size in Oklahoma,
THE LAND OF SUNSHINE AND PROMISE.
Its First Anniversary Recently Celebrated, Saw Thirty
Thousand People on the Grounds.
CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, SOCIETIES, ENID HAS THEM ALL

Special Correspondence Of Gazette.
Enid. o. II, Sept, 27.-Upon the ter
minatlon OF the fight at Enid 10 seour'
tho stoppage OF the Rock Island rail-
road trains. the Gazette, with It's usun
enterprise and promptness, dispatched
a representative to Enid TO give q
truthful account Of the status or affairs
In the far-famed Cherokee "trip.
The city OF Enid. the county scat Of
o county, IL located about gao miles
north OF Fort Worth on the Rock Inland
II Is built about the sides OF large
squire plaza, and what particularly at
tracts the newcomer ia tho fact that
nearly every building "a store. This
means In time the en- elton OF many
residences. No one can appreciate the
herolsm OF the mon ana women who
make a new country unal no sees the
barrcn prairie and then turns to a
teeming little city Of over 1000 souls and
wonders how they did 1t
No more desirable or iaw.ablding
class OF people Gun be found IN any
community IN the country. The writer
has not seen dnncg house, Il gambling
game or Il drunken man In his four
days stay here. In how many other
cltlcn In all the broad domain OF Amer
tea would tho traveller be apt 10 have
the same experience?
Boom prlcCg have not yet struck this
young Aladdin OF the plains, thanks to
tho summers general depression, and
at this writing town lots from one to
fnmT h1uRIa ali 80
the city can be bought Tor from SIS to
326-lots that In arc In reality worth
several times what ~ asked for them
even II the city meyer grows larger.
No bettor nold for investment was
ever presented to the conservative cap
italist or the more yenturesome specu-
lator.
In years. timc Enid has grown from
a population represented by 20" TO be
the third city IN size In an OF okla
honn, Guthrie nnd Oklahoma city be-
ing the only two cities larger. both
having In the nelghborhood OF 1900
people.
Among tho many claims OF Enid
are these. Third largest city: popula-
ton over 6000. county 10000 additional:
school population OF city, 1900. better
schools and churches and moro OF th0m
than any other city IN the strip; SUR
me WoAti every road In nll the Aec-
ton runs 10 Enid ana una ~ the
Mecca OF Oklahoma, and Il destined In
tho near future to become the largest
city IN Oklahoma and the proud capital
OF one of the boat sections In the
United States Enid 10 blessed with a
good city government. The mayor
Hon. Charles o, wood Is a Democrat,
while the city council Is Republican
The council is compoHed OF shrcwd
and conservative business men. who
aualnusly Look after the municipal In
terestH. The city ia now ngurlnE ON
n complete system OF water works aud
electric lights. The streets are graded
and good side walks render podcgtrian-
ism easy. A number OF brick houses
are contracted Tor aud easier times
viii certainly soc Enid advance sim
farther
An Of our readers viii remember
the wild and reckless rush, IN which
many women figured. 70 the Strip. Sep
tomher n year ago. In gpenklug Of this
rapidly growing country one must al
w1yg keep this Ia view. that nll these
wonders have been accomplished IN
twelve short mouths md mainly by
mon with little money
THE tract oe land known aB the
Cherokee strip" was thrown open TO
settlement by presidential pronlnma-
ton ut high noon, September 10, 1893.
The settlement OF tho lands was proc
vlded for by an net or congress. passed
March 3. 1893, and opened for oocu-
paney by lts operation. all thnt part
" the strip" lying west OF the Ar
kansas river except the ponoa, otoe
and Missouri Indian reservations There
We're over 5000 900 acres OF fertile land
thus opened Tor entry being 5s mllcs
north and south md $40 miles east
and west ana waterod through the
central portions by the ClmArron and
GAIT Fork rivers. and along the east
ern boundary by the great Arkansas
Most OF the eastern portion OF the
strip consists OF level nd gently roll
INK pralrles, well watered by numer-
Gus streams, fringcd with timber This
entire country, as vast aa Il lA even
greater than al the New England
states combined. was settled In a siu-
gle day, When the sun reached the
meridian on that eventful day, It's rays
shone upon the greatest sight ever
witnessed by the human eye, In any
ago or In any country-~lts parallel
never was and never win be on earth
again.
'Bnld was the great objective point.
ana the race for q homo by mon ard
women was characteristic OF tho oner-
gy and fortutde displayed a century
NNNs ~ - 1Il Ply marvellous to nttnk
nuch vast area OF country could be
penplcd In almost the twinlilng OF an
eye, The signal was tired and the won
derfnl ride Tor Enid. was on, on they
went In every conceivable form " We
mele and upon the backs Of the sulrt.
est American race horses. In twelve
minutes after tho signal an object was
seen coming ovnr the vast grassy plain
toward Enid. moving with the rapidiiy
Utmost OF 4 cyclone--another and an
other IN sight until nj / O'clock there
stood upon the government townsite
81 Enid over $1,000 pegnle, some cinmor-
Ing Tor city lotA same Cor firms. stherA
- make illlngs at the unjtcd states
innd office upon homesteads. A prrmn.
nsnt city OF 5000 people was made ana
Ell forms Of business es.eblished NJ
Enid within two houfa. where not
fonl Ind lived pflor TO noon Of thet
remarkable and historic dny. one
hundred carloads OF material to make
Oily aud feed a multitude or psonia
were put on tho townaitr IN twenty.
four horrs Tho exact number ~ na,.
NE that went 10 Enid by wAv ~ c,sia.
well, Karpas, ~ RAILWAY train rVsa
s2Qp, hyi teams and otherwise 5000 Thc
humber from Hqnnes4y, Q. 7, BY rail-.