Editing Guymon, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
[[File:Removing drifts of soil which block highways near Guymon, Oklahoma. - NARA - 196417.tif|thumb|left|Removing drifts of soil which block highways near Guymon during the Dustbowl.]]
[[File:CowboysAnchorD.jpg|thumb|Cowboys at Anchor D ranch in Guymon in 1917.]]

In the 1890s, Edward T. "E.T." Guymon, president of the Inter-State Land and Town Company, purchased a section of land west of the [[Beaver River (Oklahoma)|Beaver River]], also known as the [[North Canadian River]]. The site grew very rapidly after the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway]] (Rock Island) built a line from [[Liberal, Kansas]], to [[Texhoma, Texas]], in 1901. A community, first named '''Sanford''' by the U.S. Post Office Department, was situated along the line. It was renamed '''Guymon''' a month later by postal officials to avoid confusion with the town of [[Stratford, Texas]], which was further down the line.  Guymon incorporated in 1901. The town [[plat]] was filed in [[Beaver County, Oklahoma|Beaver County]], Oklahoma Territory, in 1904.<ref name="EOHC-Guymon"/>

Guymon's growth was helped when most of the businesses moved there from the nearby town of [[Hardesty, Oklahoma|Hardesty]]. One of these was the newspaper, ''Hardesty Herald'', which owner Richard B. Quinn quickly renamed as the ''Guymon Herald''. When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Guymon claimed 839 residents, and was named county seat of the newly created Texas County. By the 1910 U.S. census, the town had 1,342 residents. It also had three banks, three hotels, four doctors,  a flour mill, a grain company, and several retail establishments. A second newspaper, the ''Guymon Democrat'', was in business. Agriculture became the basis of Guymon's economy. The 1920 census recorded 1,507 residents, which grew to 2,181 in 1930.  By 1932, the town had two cream stations and five grain elevators.<ref name="EOHC-Guymon"/>

The [[Great Depression]] and the [[Dust Bowl]] of the 1930s had a negative effect on Guymon. Some old-time residents remember "[[Black Sunday (storm)|Black Sunday]]", April 14, 1935, as the day of the worst dust storm in the area's history. However, discovery of the nearby [[Hugoton Gas Field|Hugoton-Panhandle gas field]] created many new jobs, and brought Guymon's population to 2,290 in 1940.<ref name="EOHC-Guymon"/>

The Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo has offered tributes to the community's pioneer spirit every May since 1933.  In 2014, the rodeo was inducted into the [[ProRodeo Hall of Fame]] of the [[Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association]]<!-- (PRCA) -->.  In 2006, the rodeo had over 900 contestants with over $385,000 in prize money.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.guymonrodeo.com|title= Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo|access-date=2008-04-23 }}</ref>