Editing Fort Supply, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
The United States Army post of [[Fort Supply (Oklahoma)|Fort Supply]] was established in 1868 as a "Camp of Supply" for the winter campaign that General [[Philip Sheridan]] led against the Southern Plains Indians.<ref name=okhistory>{{cite web | url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FO042 | title= Fort Supply | publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society | accessdate=September 26, 2019}}</ref>

People established the town of Fitzgerald three miles west-southwest of the site of the former Fort Supply in 1902, but this town quickly failed.

Rancher H. H. Halsell sold the land one mile west of Fort Supply to territorial legislator James P. Gandy.  Gandy hired surveyors to plat the land for a town site and founded the town of '''Supply''' in 1903.  He moved most of the original buildings of Supply from the recently failed town of Fitzgerald.  The Government established the first post office for the town of Supply on May 12, 1903.  In the early years, area farmers and ranchers centered their economic trade around the town.

In 1908, the State of Oklahoma transformed Fort Supply, the derelict army post, into Western Oklahoma State Hospital, also known as Western State Hospital or Fort Supply State Hospital, the first state-operated mental institution of Oklahoma.

The [[Flood Control Act of 1936]] provided for construction of a dam and reservoir one mile southeast of the town in the valley of [[Wolf Creek (Texas and Oklahoma)|Wolf Creek]].  Work began on the largest earthen dam in the United States of America in October 1938 and [[Fort Supply Lake]] was completed in May 1942.  The [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] administers Fort Supply Lake and the adjacent wildlife and recreation area.

On May 1, 1943, the people changed the name of the post office and town of Supply to '''Fort Supply'''.

On December 6, 1988, the State of Oklahoma located a new prison, [[William S. Key Correctional Center]], on the grounds of nearby former Fort Supply.  Western State Psychiatric Center also has operations on the grounds.  Agriculture and employment at these state institutions form the economic base of the community of Fort Supply.