Mustang, Oklahoma

Episode 180 / 16 July 2020 / 164 min / full

Dark & Dirty Motivation

"We're going to Mustang, Oklahoma... This is in Canadian County, Oklahoma." about 0:06:24

The case: Murder of Keith Bryan (September 2011). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2020

Population

20,125

Median age

39.2

Median household income

$69,966

Median home value

$169,700

Two-bedroom rent

about $1,010

Cost of living

$93 out of 100

Religious

about 46%

Property crime

▼ about 20% under

Violent crime

▼ about 20% low

History, in brief

• European explorers were in the area as early as 1541. about 0:08:39
• The modern era can be traced to 1889 and the Oklahoma land run. about 0:08:52
• The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed settlers to claim lots of up to 160 acres if they lived on the land and improved it. about 0:12:59
• The Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 authorised President Benjamin Harrison to open two million acres for settlement. about 0:13:15
• The land run started at high noon on April 22, 1889, with 50,000 people lined up for two million acres. about 0:14:55
• On April 22, 1889, Mustang Township filled each available tract with 142 claimants. about 0:15:47
• Many of the settlers were German, Polish and Czechoslovakian immigrants. about 0:19:21
• The first post office came in 1895 and was named Mustang after the nearby Mustang Creek. about 0:19:32
• Mustang was known as 'down in Egypt' because of its bountiful crops of fruit and vegetables. about 0:19:45
• The weekly Oklahoma Farmer called it one of the most prosperous regions in Oklahoma. about 0:20:49
• Farmers grew wheat, oats, corn, peaches, sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, apples, pears, grapes, blackberries, cherries, plums and watermelons. about 0:20:55
• Peaches from the area were shipped to England and sold there for three dollars apiece in 1904. about 0:21:06
• Schools were established in 1902; the first teacher was paid $40 a month to teach 45 students. about 0:22:23
• In 1906 train sparks ignited grass beside a farm and the fire swept northeast as far as Council Road, destroying over 3,000 peach and apple trees and five barns. about 0:22:42
• The town was hit hard by the Dust Bowl and by the stock market crash. about 0:23:15
• Mustang is called the buckle on the tornado belt; churches and most homes were destroyed in 1927 and 1937. about 0:25:14
• In 1956 a tornado tore the roof off the high school and city hall; in 1970 homes, businesses, an elementary school and a shopping centre were destroyed. about 0:25:29
• The population increased sharply in the 1960s. about 0:26:10

The reviews read out

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