The Unassigned Lands is set at the intersection of several over-lapping events, the most significant being the transition of The Indian Territory to The Oklahoma Territory.  That transition was quite long and quite a bit was happening in the US: The outlaw/cowboy culture of the late 1800s, an economic depression and currency crisis, an actual gold rush in the Wichita Mountains, and the persistent legend of Jesse James' Mexican Gold (that topic has it's own page HERE) in the Wichita Mountains. No single topic dominated the period, but taken together they shaped many aspects of how Oklahoma, and America in general, hobbled into the 20th century.

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These links explore the historical themes drifting through The Unassigned Lands.  While interesting (to me, anyway), none were critical to the story and editing made it necessary to remove the clutter from Bud's story.  I try to do them better service here.

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A topic that deserves more attention but will get merely a whiff is newspaper reporting of the period (You'll find the whiff in The False Gold Rush).  My research had me examine hundreds of newspapers across the country and what I learned is that "Fake News" was invented over a hundred years ago.  Newspaper editors could basically write whatever they wished, accuracy merely a happy coincidence.  Equally interesting is what the editor's didn't write, which was often governed by their politics and personal agendas.  That's the primary reason for the 'blurry truth' back on the Legend page.

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Fortunately there are some decent and well-researched sources, I name them where appropriate.  I hope you enjoy the brief history discussions and maybe learn something you didn't know (I know I did).