Homesteaders – Jean and Harold Lawson

Jean Lawson’s grandfather Harold Fry moved to Oklahoma the hard way – on April 22, 1889. He stood in line on his horse Old Matt with thousands of other settlers, waiting for the cannon shot that signaled the start of the now famous Oklahoma Land Run of ’89. He staked his claim just north of the Canadian River, south of present day Yukon. Over the years he built a home and now his granddaughter Jean Lawson lives on the original homestead, along with her husband Harold.

This is the second family I photographed for a story in Oklahoma Today magazine about Oklahoma homesteaders, written by Nathan Gunter.