Oklahoma Land Run marker remains broken after two years

Run of '89 East Boundary 000

A marker on Route 66 that tells of one of Oklahoma’s historic land runs remains unrepaired about two years after someone broke it.

KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City reports that, as usual, the problem is a lack of money:

The Run of 89 East Boundary marker sits near the corner of Route 66 and North Indian Meridian. The marker represents the location for the East Line of the Land Run, which began at noon on April 22, 1889.

But today, the marker is still laying on the side of the road after it was knocked over, and no one has come by to repair it. […]

Kathy Dickson, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Historical Society, said there is no funding in the budget that can go toward repairing the historic marker.

The historical society says it is checking with contractors or a private company that may repair the marker in the coming weeks.

The television station interviewed Sam Gillaspy, who many roadies know as Mr. Sam, a longtime volunteer at the Arcadia Round Barn, and one of the co-owners of the Boundary on 66 barbecue restaurant.

And a perusal of Google Street View shows the market already was knocked over in April 2014. So the two-year estimate is about right. The marker is less than a mile west of the restaurant.

The lack of money for the Oklahoma Historical Society isn’t just talk, either. The state is going through its worst oil bust since the 1980s, and the state government is facing at least a $900 million deficit.

That doesn’t excuse the historical society’s inaction with the marker. But this isn’t your garden-variety agency being a few bucks short, either.

(Image of the Eastern Boundary of the 1889 Land Run monument by K. Latham via Flickr)

2 thoughts on “Oklahoma Land Run marker remains broken after two years

  1. Why is there NO marker at the southern boundary where I-44 crosses the South Canadian River?? Was a big gathering place for those settlers entering the area from the south. Some of the better known of those settlers were the Woodsons (Woodson Park); Trospers (Trosper Park), and many others some of which have streets named after them all over the south side of the city.

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