<p>THE OSAGE OIL BOOM The Osage oil boom was one of the nation’s great petroleum ﬁnds of the 20th century. What is now Osage County, Oklahoma was once covered by a prehistoric shallow inland sea. It contains two distinct geologic eastern belts of sandstone and shale, with a prominent eastward-facing escarpment; and a gently rolling prairie on the west which covers alternating limestone and shale beds. Just prior to Oklahoma’s Statehood, the Osage Reservation was broken into individual allotments. However, all mineral rights were reserved by the tribe to be leased by the tribal council, and royalties were to be paid to the tribe as a whole. Thus each of the 2,229 Osages on the ﬁnal tribal roll was entitled to a full headright. Almost $300 million in royalties, bonuses, interest, and rentals would be paid to owners of headrights during the ﬁrst half of the 20th century. In 1896 a lease to the entire Osage Nation was given to Henry Foster, and development of the region began. Ten years later, when this exclusive lease was broken, a horde of oilmen rushed to the area, and more than 250 ﬁelds would be uncovered, among them the Burbank, the 21st largest discovery ever made in the United States. With the oilmen came a horde of camp followers, businessmen, gamblers, bootleggers, and others who created some of the wildest boom towns in the American West. The lawlessness and violence reached their peak in the so-called Osage Reign of Terror, a time when many tribal members were swindled out of their riches. Lasting almost three and a half decades, the Osage oil boom bridged the era between the old and the new West. In this volume the author has chronicled in rich detail the Osage story of boom and bust, of plotting and intrigue, of work and play, and of murder and mayhem. This book has a large 8.75" x 11.25" format, and is illustrated throughout with photographs.</p>

The Osage Oil Boom

Kenny Arthur Franks

Oklahoma Heritage

Country Lawyer the Life and Times of James F. Howell

David Craighead

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Books by Oklahoma Heritage

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Oklahoma Heritage publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Osage Oil Boom

Country Lawyer the Life and Times of James F. Howell