In Oklahoma specifically, central Oklahoma was largely settled in the land rush of 1889, and within a year or two OKC, Norman, and the University of Oklahoma we

In Oklahoma specifically, central Oklahoma was largely settled in the land rush of 1889, and within a year or two OKC, Norman, and the University of Oklahoma were all founded. Oklahoma didn't even become a state until 1907. Norman was one of the largest cities at the time; it would not have been clear at all which cities would eventually become large metro areas a century later.