Editing Chickasha, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
[[File:Oklahoma - Chickasha - NARA - 68147114 (cropped).jpg|250px|thumb|left|Chickasha in 1927]]
Chickasha was founded by [[Hobart Johnstone Whitley]], a land developer, banker, farmer and Rock Island Railroad executive.<ref>[http://allanellenberger.com/tag/whitley-heights/ "Hollywoodland H. J. Whitley."]</ref> At the time of its founding, Chickasha was located in Pontotoc County, Chickasaw Nation.<ref>Charles Goins, ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), p. 105.</ref>  The founding took place in 1892 when the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway]] (Rock Island) built a track through [[Indian Territory]]. A post office was established in June 1892. One of the earliest industrial plants to come to Chickasha was the Chickasha Cotton Oil Company, which was established in 1899.<ref name="Munn, 7">Munn, 7</ref> The town incorporated in 1902.<ref name="EOHC-Chickasha">Jefferies, Angie. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' "Chickasha."{{cite web |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CH038.html |title=Chickasha |access-date=September 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120085015/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CH038.html |archive-date=November 20, 2009}}</ref>  From 1910 to 1927, the town was served by the [[Chickasha Street Railway]], the town's own electric trolley system.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.american-rails.com/oklhaurbans.html#:~:text=The%20Chickasha%20Street%20Railway%20served,abandoned%20in%20favor%20of%20buses. |title= Chickasha Street Railway|publisher=American-Rails.com|accessdate=August 26, 2023}}</ref>

In 1908, the Oklahoma Industrial Institute and College for Girls was established in Chickasha. A local rancher named J. B. Sparks donated land for the school in memory of his daughter, Nellie. The girl was a Chickasaw descendant, and the land had been part of her allotment. The Nellie Sparks Dormitory commemorated her. The school was renamed as the [[Oklahoma College for Women]] in 1916. It became [[coeducation]]al in 1965, and was renamed the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts. It was renamed again in 1975 as the [[University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma]].<ref name = "EOHC-Chickasha"/>

The Wilson and Bonfis Flying School opened in October 1941 to train cadets of the [[U.S. Air Force|U.S. Army Air Force]]. Over eight thousand cadets completed training there during [[World War II]]. After the war, the facility became the [[Chickasha Municipal Airport]].<ref name = "EOHC-Chickasha"/>

Also during the war, the army built and used Borden General Hospital. This site now contains Grady Memorial Hospital, Five Oaks Medical Group, Southern Plains Medical Center and Borden Park.<ref name = "EOHC-Chickasha"/>

A [[prisoner of war camp]] established in 1944 is now the site of the Grady County Fairgrounds.<ref name = "EOHC-Chickasha"/>

{{wide image|Panorama Chickasha, Okla LCCN2007662685.tif|1000 px|alt=A panoramic view showing wooden houses and businesses, many along two main dirt roads that meet at a corner|Chickasha, 1909}}