April 22, 1889: Jim McFarland and Wife Maggie Rushed to Stake Claim for Oklahoma Land

On April 22, 1889, Jim McFarland and wife Maggie blended in with the thousands of other Boomers rushing to stake claim for Oklahoma land. After the dust settled and the masses thinned out, Jim and Maggie asserted rights to thirty-five hundred acres in northeastern Oklahoma. The virgin land, inhabited with black bear, buffalo, and different species of deer, was rich with vast grasslands and mountains.

By 1973, the McFarland ranchland extended to five generations, divided equally between four sons and their families.The thirty-five hundred acres, known now as the Flint Hills, runs east to west, and is northeast of Tulsa Oklahoma. The ranchland sits below the Ouachita Mountains and lies between the Arkansas and Verdigris Rivers. The valley produces blue stem and prairie grasses, which makes for some of the best grazing pastures in the nation. Black Jack trees- known as scrub oak- are the predominant forestry. Closer to the Ouachita Mountains low rounded hills and low ridges overlook thin forests of pine.

A northeasterly wind ushered dark grey clouds across the pre-dusk Oklahoma sky. A rolling belching thunder gathering crescendo accompanied intermittent flashes of lightening that shot out of the clouds.

Tom McFarland adjusted his leather hide work gloves, squinted from the bright flashes, and then looked to the black clouds as a single drop of rain hit below his right eye. He removed his gloves and wiped the moisture from his cheek.

"Well that about does it Guys." Tom shouted to the three ranch hands as he pointed to the approaching storm. The men gathered their tools and put them in the back of their truck. "Tomorrow we will finish." Tom added to the men before they drove away.

Driving back to the ranch house, Tom kept eyeing the rearview, estimating the distance of the approaching storm. The wind tore through his opened window bending the rim of his hat as he drove. Itwas not pouring yet but it would not be long, he thought.