Historical accounts of the transformation of a prairie town

Abstract

Prior to European settlement, the area that would later become Norman, Oklahoma was dominated by prairie vegetation. Woody vegetation was limited to riparian zones and isolated groves presumably protected from the effects of fire. The contemporary landscape of Norman, stands in stark contrast to this “treeless†prairie, and is now characterized by a so-called urban forest. In this paper, we analyze a number of archival sources, ranging from early expedition and traveler accounts to post-settlement photography in order to qualitatively assess the nature of the landscape in and around the present-day city of Norman prior to and immediately following European settlement. We also utilize repeat photography to document the floristic and vegetation changes that have occurred. We found that the pre-European settlement landscape was characterized by rolling prairies heavily influenced by the grazing of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), bison (Bison bison), and pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana). Forbs were limited and herbaceous vegetation was dominated primarily by closely grazed grasses. Woody vegetation was limited primarily to watercourses and ravines, though numerous accounts cite thickets of oaks (Quercus spp.) occurring in the adjacent cross timbers. Today, the vegetation of Norman is characterized by the dominance of woody vegetation. Within Norman’s historical residential areas, commonly occurring species include hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), Shumard’s oak (Q. shumardii), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), and sycamore (Platanus occidentalis).