New Book Explores Oklahoma's "No Man's Land"

"American Outback" gets up front about the backcountry.

TTU Press

For decades, the Oklahoma Panhandle has been known, both inside and outside of the state, as “No Man’s Land” – a narrow strip of land that was once unclaimed and unwanted by anyone. But times change, and the once-neglected part of the Sooner State has developed into one of Oklahoma’s most important and historically significant areas. Texas Tech University Press examines the “No Man’s Land” to our north in Richard Lowitt's "American Outback: The Oklahoma Panhandle in the Twentieth Century."

To settle and remain in the Oklahoma Panhandle was, for many years, an achievement. Comprising land that Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico did not want, and that Texas, after entering the Union as a slave state, could not have, the Oklahoma Panhandle was dubbed “No Man’s Land.”

This geographical anomaly, 165 miles long and only 35 miles wide, belonged to no one and, before statehood, served as a haven for desperadoes and villains. Only with the creation of the Oklahoma Territory in 1890 was the area finally claimed by a government entity.

Lowitt's focus on the last century's worth of history allows him to train a spotlight on some of the most significant events in the Oklahoma Panhandle's recent history. In the 1930s the Panhandle attracted attention as the heart of the Dust Bowl. Later the area became a world leader in the production of natural gas, and in the 1990s corporate mega hog farms moved in, creating a new set of challenges. Lowitt even examines the spectacularly failed attempt to irrigate the Panhandle by building Optima Dam.

As the twenty-first century unfolds, despite concerns about water, pollution, and population growth, the Panhandle remains the most prosperous part of the state, with wheat, meat and energy as the largest contributors to its economy.

Visit the Texas Tech University Press Web site to learn more about "American Outback: The Oklahoma Panhandle in the Twentieth Century."

About the Author

Richard Lowitt, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Oklahoma, is the author of many works on 20th century American history, including "One Third of a Nation: Lorena Hickock Reports on the Great Depression."

 

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