Editing Boise City, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
[[File:Map of states and counties affected by the Dust Bowl, sourced from US federal government dept. (NRCS SSRA-RAD).svg|thumb|left|Area affected by the [[Dust Bowl]] between 1935 and 1938]]
Boise City was founded in 1908 by developers J.&nbsp;E.&nbsp;Stanley, A.&nbsp;J.&nbsp;Kline, and W. T. Douglas (all doing business as the Southwestern Immigration and Development Company of Guthrie, Oklahoma), who published and distributed brochures promoting the town as an elegant, tree-lined city with paved streets, numerous businesses, railroad service, and an [[artesian well]].{{efn|They had claimed before their arrests in September 1909 that three railroads were coming through the town.<ref name=EOHC-BoiseCity/>  In fact, no railroad came through town until the Elkhart and Santa Fe Railway (both leased to and a wholly owned subsidiary of the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]),<ref name="Railroads">{{cite book |title= Railroads of Oklahoma, June 6, 1870 to April 1, 1978|publisher= State of Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Survey Division | date=April 1, 1978|pages=37}}</ref> did so in 1925.<ref name="EOHC-BoiseCity"/>  The tracks of that line continued to [[Felt, Oklahoma]], and were extended to [[Clayton, New Mexico]] in 1932, but the whole segment from Boise City to Clayton was abandoned in 1942.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CI003 |title=Cimarron County|publisher=Norma Gene Young, Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date=September 9, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abandonedrails.com/boise-city-to-clayton |title= Boise City, OK to Clayton, NM |publisher=AbandonedRails.com|access-date=January 3, 2021}}</ref>  The remainder from Boise City northeast is now part of the [[Cimarron Valley Railroad]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cimarronvalleyrr.com |title=Home|publisher=Cimarron Valley Railroad|access-date=January 3, 2021}}</ref>  In 1931, Santa Fe built a new line north from Amarillo through Boise City and beyond.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.txrrhistory.com/towers/075/075.htm |title= Amarillo Area Towers|publisher=Texas Railroad History|access-date=January 4, 2021}}</ref>  That line, terminating in [[Springfield, Colorado]],<ref>{{cite web|url= https://cimarronvalleyrr.com |title=Cimarron Valley Railroad (map)|publisher= Cimarron Valley Railroad|access-date=January 4, 2021}}</ref> is now known as the Boise City Subdivision or the Boise City Sub, operated by [[BNSF Railway]].<ref name=BNSF>{{cite web|url= https://www.bnsf.com/bnsf-resources/pdf/ship-with-bnsf/maps-and-shipping-locations/bnsf-network-map.pdf |title=BNSF Subdivisions|publisher=BNSF|access-date=January 4, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://condrenrails.com/JDI/Colorado-P3/index.html |title= Colorado trip for Private Car ride: Part 3, Pueblo to Amarillo via BNSF Boise City Sub, Sept. 23, 2010|publisher=CondrenRails.com|access-date=January 4, 2021}}</ref>}} They sold 3,000&nbsp;lots to buyers who discovered, on their arrival, that none of the information in the brochure was true. In addition to using false publicity, the three men did not have title to the lots they sold.

Stanley and Kline were convicted of mail fraud and sent to [[United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth|Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary]]. Stanley and Kline served two-year terms in the penitentiary. Douglas died of tuberculosis before beginning his sentence. Despite the fraud by the original developers, the town nevertheless took shape and was incorporated on July 20, 1925.<ref name="EOHC-BoiseCity"/>

The ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' says that the origin of the town name is unclear, but offers three possibilities: (1) a Captain Boice who was a hero in the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], (2) the town of [[Boise, Idaho]], or (3) the Boise Cattle Company, which ran cattle in the area.<ref name="EOHC-BoiseCity">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=BO005 Young, Norma Gene. "Boise City,"  ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.] Accessed June 17, 2015.</ref>  It was speculated in Ken Burns' documentary, ''[[The Dust Bowl (miniseries)|The Dust Bowl]]'', that the town name was chosen as part of the original land scam to evoke a false image of the town, as ''boisé'' is French for "wooded".

Boise City's prosperity in the 1930s, like that of Cimarron County generally, was severely affected by its location at the heart of the [[Dust Bowl]] region.<ref name="Seelye">[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/us/04dust.html?mcubz=0 Seelye, Katharine Q. "Survivor of Dust Bowl Now Battles a Fiercer Drought." ''New York Times''. May 3, 2011.] Accessed July 23, 2017.</ref><ref name= "Parker">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140519024730/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140516-dust-bowl-drought-oklahoma-panhandle-food  Parker, Laura. "Parched: A New Dust Bowl Forms in the Heartland." National Geographic." May 17, 2014.] Accessed July 23, 2017.</ref>

Boise City was the location of an unusual event during [[World War II]], when it was mistakenly bombed by a friendly U.S. bomber crew during training. The bombing occurred on July 5, 1943, around 12:30&nbsp;am by a [[B-17 Flying Fortress]] bomber.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,777833,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214164952/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,777833,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 14, 2008 | magazine=Time | title=War: The Bombing of Boise City | date=July 19, 1943}}</ref> This occurred because pilots performing target practice became disoriented and mistook the four lights centered around the town's main square as their target. No one was killed in the attack, and damage was minimal, as only practice bombs with four pounds of dynamite and 90 pounds of sand were used, and the square was deserted, but the pilots were embarrassed. For the 50th anniversary of the incident, the crew of the bomber was invited back to Boise City, but all members declined, some for health reasons and others because they did not want to draw more attention to their mishap. The B-17's former radio operator did, however, send an audio tape that was played at the celebration.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dary|first1=David|title=Bombed-Out Boise City|url=http://thislandpress.com/03/10/2015/bombed-out-boise-city/?page_num=2|access-date=11 March 2015|work=[[This Land Press]]|date=10 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-07-01-1993182202-story.html | title=BOMBS AWAY -- ON BOISE CITY World War II error put Okla. Town on the map }}</ref>