This County In Oklahoma Was One Of The Most Dangerous Places In The Nation In The 1920s
By Ashley|Published August 01, 2017
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Ashley
Author
Ashley has lived in Oklahoma for 30 years and is the Oklahoma staff writer for onlyinyourstate.com. When she isn't writing about Oklahoma, she enjoys visiting the beach and exploring new areas.
In the early 1920s, Osage County, Oklahoma was a hotbed for murders and crime due to the valuable land that was producing oil. The Osage were the wealthiest people in the country, which in turn attracted opportunists trying to take over their wealth. It became so corrupt that it was known as the “Reign of Terror” and was considered one of the most dangerous places in the nation. The Osage Indian murders were written about in a best-selling book, “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI” and will be turned into a film next year.
Here’s a look back at what took place in Osage County in the 1920s:
After moving from their home in Kansas in the 1800s, the Osage bought their land in present-day Oklahoma, which gave them more rights and control over their affairs.
The Osage were some of the only ones to negotiate the retention of the communal mineral rights to their reservation lands, which in turn made them very wealthy. By 1920 they were receiving large revenues and royalties and were considered the wealthiest people in the nation.
The problem was that, in 1921, Congress made the Osage have court-appointed guardians for minors even if they had living parents. Most of the time these guardians were white businessmen and lawyers who made hefty amounts of money from their fees. They would also commit criminal acts and defraud the Osage of their wealth.
Murders and corruption starting overtaking the county by those trying to get their hands on this wealth. Things quickly got out of hand and local law enforcement could not control the crime that was going on. The federal government was called in for help after newspapers started calling this area the "Reign of Terror."
The Bureau of Investigation (which later became the FBI) came to town and began investigating. They estimated that between 1921 and 1925, over 60 wealthy, full-blood Osage were killed. Most of these murders were never prosecuted, except for a few men who were convicted and sentenced to prison.
To get the opportunists and murderers out of Osage, Congress passed a law in 1925 prohibiting non-Osage from inheriting headrights from Osage with half or more Native American ancestry.
Although this law drastically cut down on crime in the most dangerous place in the country - Osage County - the mass murders that were committed in the spirit of greed will never be forgotten.
Images used in this article are only representations of the people in the story.
If you visit present day Osage County, it’s an area filled with beautiful wide open spaces, history and things to do. One great place to check out is the Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile in Pawhuska. You can find more information about it here.
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