I grew up in Oklahoma and I had to take Oklahoma History during my student days. Oklahoma has a pretty interesting history, being Indian Territory before becoming a state. One interesting fact is that the Oklahoma Panhandle was known as No Man’s Land from 1850 to 1890. Maybe I’ll talk about why that was one of these days, but today’s subject is No Man’s Land.
Most of us have heard the term a good part of our lives. And, even today, there are a lot of places named No Man’s Land. For instance, there is a No Man’s Land in the Caradon district of southeast Cornwall, England, a No Man’s Land on East Falkland Island and a Nomans Land Island in Chilmark, Massachusetts.
Most of the places are uninhabited. The terrain of the Falkland Island No Man’s Land is extremely rough because of the mountains known as Wickham Heights. And the Nomans Island, Massachusetts is only three miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard — it was once a bombing practice range.
The phrase No Man’s Land has been used seems like forever. It’s often used to reference an unoccupied area between the front lines of opposing armies, or to designate land that is unowned, undesirable or otherwise under dispute.
Following the Louisiana Purchase between the United States and Spain, an area called the Neutral Strip or Sabine Free State was also known as No Man’s Land. It was designated neutral ground because the two governments couldn’t agree on a boundary. From 1806 to 1819, both countries claimed ownership of the tract, but neither enforced any laws or control and it became a haven for outlaws and renegades.
In the early 1300s, a plot of land just outside the north walls of London was called No Man’s Land. It was a place where criminals were executed and left out in the open for public view. I suppose that wouldn’t be considered a “nice” neighborhood….
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