The History of English People in Oklahoma

The English Cattle Ranch and Land Company sent British immigrants to run and work on ranches they established on leased Indian reservation land in the 1880s. A number of English natives and their descendants took part in the land runs.

BY DAVID CHRISTOPHER
Staff Writer | Modified: June 28, 2010 at 10:53 am | Published: June 28, 2010 Comment on this article

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Oklahoma's Largest Cultures

American Indian
- Cherokee
- Chickasaw
- Choctaw
- Muscogee (Creek)
- Seminole
Arab, Middle Eastern and North African
Asian
- Asian Indian
- Vietnamese
Black
European
- English
- French
- German
- Irish
- Italian
- Scottish
Hispanic and Latino
- Mexican

In the 1870s, the Choctaw Nation’s mines recruited many English immigrants, alongside Scottish and Welsh miners.

The English Cattle Ranch and Land Company sent British immigrants to run and work on ranches they established on leased Indian reservation land in the 1880s.

A number of English natives and their descendants took part in the land runs.

English immigrants tended to assimilate into the prevailing culture in Oklahoma and did not tend to live in close ethnic communities.

By the end of the century, many English had moved to work in less dangerous mines or into management or union leadership roles.

There were 520 English natives living in the Choctaw Nation, according to the 1900 U.S. Census. That was out of a total of 779 in the whole of Indian Territory.

Before America entered World War II, two of the six secret training bases for British RAF pilots on American soil were in Oklahoma.

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