PONCA CITYBurton Seymor Barnes had a dream. He formed a plan and that dream became a reality. That dream is now known as Ponca City. When Congress authorized opening the Cherokee Strip to settlers in March of 1893, Barnes began to form his plan.
Barnes wanted to found a city in Indian Territory. He traveled throughout the Cherokee Strip, looking for the perfect location for the city. Stopping at a spring to water his horses, Barnes notice a Santa Fe train chugging along, about a mile away. He knew that with good water and the train so close he had found the site for the town he wanted to start.
Heading back to the land office in Arkansas City, Kansas, he started the Ponca Townsite Company. Barnes sold 2,300 certificates that allowed the holder to purchase land from the Ponca Townsite Company. The $4,600 he earned from the sale of the certificates were used to start the city.
The guns fired at noon on September 16, 1893 and the Land Run of the Cherokee Strip had began. Five days later a drawing was held to see who would get which plot of land. Two little girls were used to draw the cards from the boxes. One girl drew the card with the person’s name on it and the other girl drew the card with land description on it. That same night, Barnes was elected mayor and other were also elected as public officials. A town marshall was hired.
Burton Seymour Barnes’ dream had come true.
Ponca City was born.