Editing Cameron, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
When the Fort Smith and Southern Railway laid tracks in the area of the present day town of Cameron in 1886–87, there was already a settlement of about 40 people.{{efn|The [[St. Louis and San Francisco Railway]] (aka SL&SF, or Frisco) bought the Fort Smith and Southern in February 1887 and completed the line.<ref name="EOHC-Cameron">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CA018 Larry O'Dell, "Cameron." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402134946/http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CA018 |date=April 2, 2015 }} Accessed March 20, 2015.</ref>}} At the time of its founding, Cameron was located in [[Skullyville County, Choctaw Nation|Skullyville County]], a part of the [[Moshulatubbee District]] of the Choctaw Nation.<ref>Morris, John W. ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.</ref>  The U. S. Post Office Department established a post office that it named Cameron, Indian Territory in 1888.
According to  ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', the post office and town may have been named for either of two persons. One was William Cameron, a former Mine Inspector for Indian Territory. The other was James Cameron, an employee of the  Fort Smith and Southern Railway.<ref name="EOHC-Cameron"/>

In 1883, James Reynolds, a successful rancher and entrepreneur, established the Cameron Institute, which was sponsored by the Presbyterian Church but was open to enrolling students of any denomination. It educated children from primary to high school level. Reynolds became a resident of Cameron, where he built an imposing home, now known as the [[James E. Reynolds House]], that had the appearance of a castle. The building is on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in LeFlore County, Oklahoma]].<ref name="EOHC-Cameron"/>