The people who participated in the Land Run event that defined the founding of Oklahoma City became known as Eighty-Niners (89ers), highlighting their special status as the people who founded the city and state.
This term was a source of pride for generations of settlers, which is reflected in the Pioneers of 1889 sculpture by Leonard McMurry, located in an otherwise unremarkable office complex in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Depicting two 89er settlers, the sculpture of a young boy on a horse and a man kneeling in front was completed in 1959. A marker near it commemorates the spirit of these settlers, mentioning the vision and determination they possessed which allowed their descendants to further pioneer the area and explore future frontiers.
One of Oklahoma’s most notable sculptors of the twentieth century, Leonard McMurry showed his many bronzes figurative sculptures in venues across the United States, from Oklahoma City to St. Louis to New York City. For the 1982 Diamond Jubilee of Oklahoma statehood he completed a series of twenty-one busts of Oklahoma’s governors.
Donated by Mr. and Mrs. B.D.Eddie, the Pioneers of 1889 sculpture in inherently connected to the spirit of the city that continues to influence the modern community. That it does so in what is otherwise an empty commercial plaza showcases how such landmarks can connect audiences and communities across the eras.
