Oklahoma |
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| Entered the Union: Nov. 16, 1907 (46) | Capital: Oklahoma City | |
| Origin of Name: from the Choctaw words: "okla" meaning people and "humma" meaning red, which literally means "red people." | ||
| State Nickname: Sooner State | State Tree: Redbud | |
| State Bird:Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher | State Flower: Mistletoe | |
| State Game Bird: Wild Turkey | State Animal: Bison | |
| State Furbearer: Raccoon | State Reptile: Collared Lizard | |
| State Song: "Oklahoma" | State Parks: 32 | |
| State Motto: Labor omnia vincit (Labor conquers all things) | ||
| Famous For: National Cowbow Hall of Fame, Will Rogers Memorial | ||
| Famous Oklahomans: Johnny Bench • Mickey Mantle (baseball) Garth Brooks • Vince Gill • Woody Guthrie • Patti Page • Reba McEntire (singers), James Garner • Van Heflin • Tony Randall (actors), L. Gordon Cooper • Owen Garriott • Thomas Stafford (astronauts), Paul Harvey (broadcaster), Shannon Miller (Olympic gymnast), Oral Roberts (evangelist), Will Rogers (humorist), Dan Rowan (comedian), Jim Thorpe (athlete) | ||
| Animals and Birds: Click on photos of the animals and birds on this page to find out more about them and to hear the sounds they make. | ||
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| Osage, Kiowa, Arapaho, Wichita, and Caddo tribes lived in the Oklahoma region. They hunted the buffalo herds and grew corn, beans, and squash. | |||||||||||||
| In 1541, Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado reached Oklahoma. In 1682, René-Robert Cavelier explored the Mississippi River and claimed the land around it, including Oklahoma, for France. In 1803, France sold "Louisiana" (including Oklahoma) to the United States. During the early 1800s, only a few fur traders settled in Oklahoma. The first permanent American settlement was a trading post established at present-day Salina in 1823. | |||||||||||||
| By 1842, five southeastern tribes (referred to as the “Five Civilized Tribes” because of their standard of living) were forced west. These tribes included the Seminoles, Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Cherokees. Of the nearly 75,000 Indians that traveled the Trail of Tears into Oklahoma, thousands died of hunger, cold and disease along the way. Today, Oklahoma has one of the largest American Indian populations of any state. | |||||||||||||
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Originally, the state of Oklahoma was set aside for the exclusive use of the Indians and was called Indian Territory. However, in 1889, the land was opened to settlers in what became known as the "Oklahoma Land Rush." On the first opening day on April 22, 1889, 50,000 people swarmed into the area. Those who tried to beat the noon starting gun were called Sooners. Hence the state's nickname. |
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| Oklahoma's Cimarron county is bordered by more states than any other U.S. county: Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas. | |||||||||||||
| For its size, Oklahoma has produced more astronauts than almost any other state. | |||||||||||||
| The aerosol can was invented in Bartlesville; the parking meter in Oklahoma; and the shopping cart in Ardmore. | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state, with over one million surface acres of water | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma's state capitol building is the only capitol in the world with an oil well under it. | |||||||||||||
| The world’s first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935. | |||||||||||||
| In 1937, Sylvan Goldman of Standard Food Markets invented the first shopping cart so that people could buy more in a single visit to the grocery store. | |||||||||||||
| Okmulgee owns the world record for largest pecan pie, pecan cookie, pecan brownie, and biggest ice cream and cookie party. | |||||||||||||
| The Port of Catoosa, just north of Tulsa, is the nation’s largest inland port. | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma has some of the most violent tornadoes of any U.S. state. | |||||||||||||
| Quapaw, Oklahoma is famous for “spooklights,” bouncing bright balls of white fire that have been reported as far back as the 1700's. | |||||||||||||
| In 1935, Musician Bob Dunn, from Beggs, Oklahoma, made some of the first electric guitar recordings. | |||||||||||||
| The National Cowboy Hall of Fame is located in Oklahoma City. | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma has four mountain ranges including the Ouachitas, Arbuckles, Wichitas and the Kiamichis. | |||||||||||||
| Clinton Riggs designed the YIELD sign. It was first used on a trial basis in Tulsa. | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma's Ethnic Roots: German 14.5%, American 13.1%, Irish 11.8%, English 9.6%, African 8.1%, Native American 7.9% with Cherokees as the largest tribe. | |||||||||||||
| Religion in Oklahoma: Known as the center of the "Bible Belt"(the Evangelical Protestant region spanning the Southeast and Midwest states and known for strong politically and socially conservative views). 80.2% Christian (73.2% Protestant, 7% Catholic), 17.1% No Religion, 2% Other Religions, 0.7% LDS | |||||||||||||
| Henry Starr, one of the last outlaws of the Old West was from Oklahoma . During his 32 years in crime, he claimed to have robbed more banks than both the James-Younger Gang and the Doolin-Dalton Gang put together. | |||||||||||||
| The official State Meal of Oklahoma is chicken fried steak, fried okra, squash, cornbread, barbecue pork, biscuits, sausage and gravy, grits, corn, strawberries, black eyed peas and pecan pie. | |||||||||||||
At a Glance
Oklahoma Quick Facts
| Entered the Union | Nov. 16, 1907 (46) |
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| Capital | Oklahoma City |
| Nickname | Sooner State |
| State Bird | Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher |
| State Flower | Mistletoe |
| State Tree | Redbud |
New for 2026
More Oklahoma Facts & Photos
Oklahoma's official state fossil, adopted in 2000, is Saurophaganax maximus, a giant meat-eating dinosaur of the Jurassic period whose bones were unearthed near Black Mesa in the 1930s.
Black Mesa, in the far corner of the panhandle where Oklahoma meets Colorado and New Mexico, is the state's highest point at 4,973 feet.
Oklahoma has more than 400 drivable miles of historic Route 66, more than any other state, including stretches of the original concrete laid down in the early 1930s.
The Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve near Pawhuska protects about 40,000 acres of the tallgrass prairie that once stretched across 14 states, the largest protected remnant left on Earth.
The Great Salt Plains in northern Oklahoma are the only place in the world where hourglass-shaped selenite crystals form. Visitors can dig them out of the salt flats every spring and summer.
Alabaster Caverns near Freedom is the world's largest natural gypsum cave open to the public, a three-quarter-mile cavern that even holds veins of rare black alabaster.
Voices of America
In Their Own Words
"Whether this [new government] will prove a blessing or a curse will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation [Proverbs 14:34].
"I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I look to Him for mercy; pray for me."
"Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts will follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."
"When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself."
Last updated: July 2026