Editing Foss, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
The history of Foss began when settlers from the area of the Wilson post office moved four miles north to the valley of Turkey Creek in the late 1890s.  They initially wanted their new [[post office]] to be called Graham, but since that name was already taken it was named Maharg (an anagram of Graham).  A [[flash flood]] on May 2, 1902, wiped out the town on Turkey Creek, destroying businesses and drowning several people.  The town rebuilt on higher ground and was named Foss.  The post office began operation on September 15, 1900.<ref name="Morris 1977 83">{{Harvnb|Morris|1977|p=83.}}</ref><ref name = "legends">{{cite web
  | title = Foss and Canute, Oklahoma - Beyond Glory Days
  | work = Legends of America
  | publisher = www.legends of america.com
  | year = 2009
  | url = https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ok-foss.html
  | accessdate = August 23, 2009}}</ref>

The town expanded rapidly.  By 1905 the town had a population between 900 and 1000 residents.<ref name="Morris 1977 83"/><ref name = "legends"/>  It had two [[bank]]s, three [[cotton gin]]s,<ref name = "legends"/> and by 1912 had an electric plant, two [[hotel]]s and an [[opera house]].<ref name = "legends"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Morris|1977|p=86.}}</ref> It also had plants to manufacture hay balers, baby carriages, and brooms.<ref name="EOHC-Foss">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FO051 "Foss." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.] Boothe, Wayne. Retrieved August 5, 2014.</ref>   The population stabilized near 500.<ref name = "legends"/> In the 1920s the town began to have economic problems as the nearby cities of [[Clinton, Oklahoma|Clinton]] and [[Elk City, Oklahoma|Elk City]] absorbed more and more trade.<ref name="Morris 1977 83"/>  During the [[Great Depression]] more people moved away.

During [[World War II]], the town boasted a population of over 300 residents, relying primarily on [[U.S. Route 66|Route 66]] travellers (which passed half a mile south of the city) and a U.S. naval base south of the town that operated during wartime.  A [[filling station]] and a [[café]] also operated in the town around that time.

Though in the 1950s and 1960s there was an economic revival due to the nearby [[Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base]] at [[Burns Flat, Oklahoma|Burns Flat]]. When the base closed and [[Interstate 40 in Oklahoma|Interstate 40]] bypassed Foss the town declined further.<ref name="Morris 1977 83"/><ref name = "legends"/> The last bank left in September 1977.<ref name = "legends"/>

Foss had two [[newspaper]]s, the ''Foss Enterprise'' and the ''Foss Banner''. It was served by the [[Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad|Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (Rock Island)]] [[railroad]].<ref name="Morris 1977 83"/> The ''Enterprise'' went out of business in the 1930s.<ref name="EOHC-Foss"/>