Editing Burkburnett, Texas (section)

==History==
[[Image:Burkburnett Texas oilfield.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Black-and-white photograph of oil derricks in Burkburnett, Texas|[[Drilling rig|Oil derricks]] at Burkburnett, ''circa'' 1920]]
Originally settled by ranchers as early as 1856, this community was known by some locals as Nesterville. By 1880, the town had a small store with a population of 132. From 1882 until 1903, a post office operated there under the designation Gilbert, named after the [[North Texas]] pioneer Mabel Gilbert. In 1906, a nearby wealthy rancher named [[Samuel Burk Burnett]] sold more than 16,000 acres (65&nbsp;km{{sup|2}}) of his land in northern Wichita County to a group of investors who were seeking to extend into the wheat-growing area of [[Western Oklahoma]] the [[Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway]], one of the [[Frank Kell]]/[[Joseph A. Kemp]] properties based in Wichita Falls.<ref>[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/heb14 Burkburnett, TX | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Within Burnett's former land near the railroad, lots were auctioned off the following year and a post office was established. The town was named Burkburnett by [[List of United States presidents|U.S. President]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]], who visited the area for a [[wolf]] hunt that was hosted by the wealthy rancher Burnett.<ref>[https://www.burkburnett.org/ Welcome to the City of Burkburnett<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 1912, oil was discovered west of the town, attracting thousands to the area, and by 1918, approximately 20,000 people had settled around the oilfield. This part of the town's history was chronicled in the film, ''[[Boom Town (film)|Boom Town]]'' with [[Clark Gable]] and [[Spencer Tracy]]. The [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] had a negative impact on the town's population, which was boosted again in 1941 as [[Sheppard Air Force Base]] was established nearby.