Editing Haskell, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Haskell was founded about one and a half miles northeast of the [[Muscogee (Creek) Nation]] town of ''Sawokla,'' which already had a post office, a store and a cotton gin. Sawokla was a [[Hitchiti]] town and had been the home of Creek Chief [[Samuel Checote]]. The original {{convert|80|acre|ha}} tract was allotted to Amos Rolland, a member of the Creek Nation. The store and gin relocated from Sawokla to Haskell as soon as the railroad was completed in 1904. The first store, S. Beshara and Brothers, was started in a tent by two immigrants from Syria. Haskell's first post office was established in 1902, with Nat Lambertson, owner of a new hardware and general store, appointed as first postmaster. Other early businesses were C. E. Henson's general store and A. J. Englert's mill and elevator. The Haskell National Bank was organized in 1904, soon followed by the First National Bank, the International Bank, and the Arkansas Valley Bank.<ref name="EOHC-Haskell">{{Cite web |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/H/HA046.html |title=Johnson, Ellen Collins. "Haskell."  ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' Accessed April 16, 2012. |access-date=July 18, 2010 |archive-date=July 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728154649/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/H/HA046.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>  In the early 1990s, the town appointed Charlie B. White, a native son, its first black mayor.  He died on March 17, 2013.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

[[File:HASKELL, C.N. GOVERNOR LCCN2016858937 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|The town was named after the first governor of Oklahoma, [[Charles N. Haskell]]]] The railroad enabled farmers near Haskell to ship their produce (grain, hay, corn, melons and cotton) to northern and eastern markets. Haskell counted 720 residents at the time of statehood in 1907. The [[Robertson Memorial Presbyterian Church]], named for a missionary family who had lived in the area, was built in 1909. The President of [[Henry Kendall College]] came from Muskogee to preside over the dedication. The building is still in use in the 21st century.<ref name="EOHC-Haskell"/>

Gas and oil were discovered near Haskell in 1910. This sparked a period of prosperity, and Haskell soon could boast of improvements such as paved streets, concrete sidewalks, electric lights, natural gas lines, and water works.<ref name="EOHC-Haskell"/>

The Tulsa-Muskogee Turnpike, completed in 1969, bypassed Haskell and diverted much road traffic from U.S. Highway 64. This caused a significant loss of revenue for many businesses in town.<ref name="EOHC-Haskell"/>

In March 2024 by a vote of the citizens, Haskell changed from a Town to a City Manager form of Government.