“The Greatest Athletic Event in the History of Man” took place at noon on Sept. 16, 1893. The Cherokee Outlet was opened for settlement by run into the territory. It would be difficult to gauge the number who made the run. Many have estimated that there were over 100,000 people. They came in from the north, the south, the east and the west. They came by horseback, buggy, wagon, bicycle, train and some came by foot. They arrived from every state in the Union and even some from other countries. Some found good land and some found bad. Still others found none. They came from all walks of life.
A Community Is Born
Towns sprang up overnight. Alva was a tent city by nightfall and a city of several hundred people with merchants and professional people within a matter of days.
 Within a year, a local committee began working to secure a Normal School in Alva. Northwestern Territorial Normal School became a reality on Sept. 20, 1897.
Communities Prospered
Alva continued to grow and prosper, as did other towns in the county. Waynoka, Freedom, Dacoma, Capron and Hopeton became well established but many others appeared for a period of time and then vanished and exist now as “place names” only. Alva’s first hospital started in a house on Barnes Avenue. |  |
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