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Welcome to the
Oklahoma GenWeb
Our thanks to Rootsweb for providing
free web space for our state project and related county pages for
many years. However, recent changes in the policies of Rootsweb's
parent company have resulted in our decision to find a new home.
We are no longer affiliated with Rootsweb and have moved this site
and many others off the Rootsweb servers.
Please be patient with us during this
transition. We're all working hard to make your visit a pleasant
one.
If you find any broken links or script errors here on OKGenWeb,
please let our
webmaster know. Broken
links or script errors on the project pages should be reported to
the individual coordinator in charge of that project.
The name "Oklahoma" comes
from the Choctaw words: "okla" meaning people and "humma" meaning red.
With the discovery of oil, people came from all parts of the world to
Oklahoma in hopes of striking it rich. The promise of a black paradise
brought tens of thousands of former slaves from the South. By the time
Oklahoma became the 46th state on November 16, 1907, African Americans
outnumbered the Indians. Some who were former slaves of Indians, took part
in the runs or accepted their allotments as tribal members. Indians from
more than 67 tribes, including the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek,
Seminole, Osage, Cheyenne, Sac and Fox, Delaware, Apache, and Pawnee,
numbering 252,420, call Oklahoma their home today, many are descendants
from the original tribes inhabiting Indian Territory.
Oklahoma is
comprised of 77 counties with a land area of 68,667 square miles (50.3
people per square mile).
According to 2000 U.S. census data, Oklahoma's population is 3,450,654. Of
those, 76.2 percent are white, 7.9 percent American Indian, 7.6 percent
African American, 5.2 percent Hispanics, and 1.4 percent Asian. The present day Oklahoma
State Flag adopted by the State Legislature in 1925, is Oklahoma's 14th
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