Cimarron County

Cimarron County. . , A rich cultural history of the Old West , The famed Santa Fe Trail, a wagon route linking the eastern United States and Mexico, cut through this corner of Cimarron County. From the 1820s until the construction of the railroads in the 1860s, this trail was heavily used by wagon trains carrying goods for trade with Mexico. , No Man's Land , The Oklahoma panhandle was once claimed by the Texas Republic, but was forfeited when Texas asked to be admitted to the Union as a slave-holding state. Rugged, remote, and lawless, it become a popular hideout for criminals, such as the notorious gong of William Coe. Coe's headquarters "Robbers Roost" was located near here. , On April 22, 1889, No Man's Land officially became part of Oklahoma Territory. , The Plains Indians , This region was the ancestral homeland for the Plains Indians. Most of these tribes were bison hunters. Bison provided Plains Indians with food, shelter, utensils, and were an essential part of their religious belief's. The Santa Fe Trail played a role in historic events that tragically ended the Plains Indians' nomadic way of life. , Spanish Exploration , Driven by their king's desire for conquest, and their own craving for fame and wealth, several Spanish expeditions crossed this region in search of the mythical Quivira, "a city of gold." In 1541, Francisco de Coronado traveled near here, followed by Juan de Onate in 1601. Neither found gold, but they did encounter Native Americans whose cultures were the real treasures of the Plains.