Editing Davis, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Davis is named after Samuel H. Davis, who moved to Washita in what was then Indian Territory in 1887.  At the time of its founding, the community was located in [[Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation]].<ref name="EOHC-Davis">Chadwick, R.W. and Sharon Chandwick. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=DA015 "Davis,"], ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, Accessed August 12, 2015; Charles Goins, ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), p. 105.</ref>

Davis owned a dry goods store, which was four miles south of the current town of Davis. Davis submitted a petition for a Santa Fe depot to be built near his store, and the petition was accepted.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/> In 1890, he also successfully petitioned for a post office to be built.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/> The post office was supposed to be named after Nelson Chigley, a Chickasaw Indian who owned the land on which the town was to be built.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/>  Chigley was already an Indian Territory name, so it was named after Davis.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/> The town was established on November 16, 1898.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/>  It is located 23 miles north of [[Ardmore, Oklahoma|Ardmore]] and 23 miles south of [[Pauls Valley, Oklahoma|Pauls Valley]].<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/>

By 1900, Davis had 57 businesses, two banks, 10 doctors, three dentists, and three lawyers.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/> Cotton farming was a common occupation in Davis, which was in one of the best cotton producing sections in Oklahoma.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/>

Later, when [[Interstate 35 in Oklahoma|U.S. Interstate 35]] was constructed, it was built two miles to the west of Davis.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/>

By 2000, the population had grown to 2,610, and very few people worked as farmers.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/> The education, health, and social services sectors of the economy have grown, with approximately one-quarter of the population working in these areas.<ref name="EOHC-Davis"/>