Editing Gene Autry, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
The town was originally named "Lou" by C.C. Henderson for his wife; the post office was established July 11, 1883.  At the time of its founding, the community was located in [[Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation]].<ref>Charles Goins.  ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), p. 105.</ref>  On November 22, 1883, it was renamed "Dresden". The name was changed to "Berwyn" on September 1, 1887, after [[Berwyn, Pennsylvania]], making the Oklahoma town one of several along the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe|Santa Fe]] railroad line through the [[Oklahoma Territory|Territory]] (re)named for stations on the "[[Main Line (Pennsylvania Railroad)|Main Line]]" of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].

Finally, on November 16, 1941, it was renamed "[[Gene Autry]]" to honor the singer and motion picture star. Though Autry was born in [[Tioga, Texas]], his family moved to [[Oklahoma]] while he was an infant. He was raised in the southern Oklahoma towns of [[Achille, Oklahoma|Achille]] and [[Ravia, Oklahoma|Ravia]]. Autry had also worked as a telegraph operator near Berwyn.<ref name="SaddleAgain">{{cite web | url=https://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/movies/jimmie-tramel-back-in-saddle-again-let-s-revisit-oklahoma/article_f3c8bac5-fdb2-5ec7-bd4f-39269b992d6f.html | title= Back in Saddle Again; Let's revisit Oklahoma town (Gene Autry) with famous cowboy's name | publisher= Jimmie Tramel, Tulsa World, September 16, 2019| access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref>  In 1939 he bought the {{convert|1,200|acre|km2|adj=on}} Flying A Ranch on the west edge of Berwyn, and the town decided to honor him by changing its name. Approximately 35,000 people attended the ceremonies broadcast live from the site on Autry's ''[[Gene Autry's Melody Ranch|Melody Ranch]]'' radio show.  Expectations that Autry would make his permanent home on the ranch were heightened when Autry’s house in California burned down just eight days before the name change ceremony, but were dashed 21 days after the ceremony with the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref name ="SaddleAgain" />  Autry joined the military in 1942.<ref name ="SaddleAgain" />   He sold the ranch after the war.<ref name ="SaddleAgain" />  The ranch is now all but gone.<ref name ="SaddleAgain" />