Editing Holdenville, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Holdenville traces its origin to a Creek settlement called ''echo'', when translated means "deer". George B. Fentress operated a general store there. A post office called "Fentress" opened there on May 24, 1895. The [[Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad]] was constructed in the 1890s from [[Arkansas]] to [[Indian Territory]]. Between 1895 and 1897, the construction passed through the [[Creek Nation]]. During this period, a railroad camp was set up to service the railroad construction.<ref name="Crawford">Crawford, B., et al. (1998). ''Holdenville - 100 Years and Counting''. Marceline, MO: D-Books Publishing, Inc.</ref> The railroad workers called the camp "Holden" in honor of J.F. Holden, the Auditor and Traffic Manager of Choctaw, Oklahoma, and Gulf Railroad.<ref name="Crawford" /> In 1895, a request was delivered to the [[U.S. Congress]] to establish a post office in Holden. The request was rejected because the name was too similar to another post office called "Holder."<ref name="Crawford" /> The proposed name was then altered to "Holdenville" and was accepted.<ref name="Crawford" />

In 1898, settlers petitioned [[Indian Territory]] to incorporate Holdenville as a town. A hearing was granted and on November 14, 1898, Holdenville was incorporated as part of Indian Territory.<ref name="Crawford" />  D. J. Red was elected mayor at the first municipal election, held December 27, 1898. The first city council meeting was held  January 4, 1899.<ref name="EOHC-Holdenville">[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/H/HO011.html Wilson, Linda D. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Holdenville."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721020958/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/H/HO011.html |date=July 21, 2010 }} Retrieved October 20, 2013.</ref>  The St. Louis, Oklahoma and Southern Railway (later the [[St. Louis and San Francisco Railway]]) constructed a line between 1900 and 1901 from [[Sapulpa, Oklahoma|Sapulpa]] to the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] that passed through Holdenville.<ref name="EOHC-Holdenville"/>  An election was held on June 27, 1908, to determine the permanent county seat. Contending communities were Holdenville, [[Wetumka, Oklahoma|Wetumka]], [[Calvin, Oklahoma|Calvin]], and [[Lamar, Oklahoma|Lamar]]. None of the candidates won a majority, so a runoff election was held on September 10, 1908, between the two top vote-getters, Holdenville and Wetumka. This time, Holdenville won the election.<ref name="EOHC-Holdenville"/>

Until it was named in a grand jury investigation in 1904, Holdenville was a [[sundown town]] where African Americans were not allowed to live or even wait for a train.<ref>{{cite news|title=City News Notes|work=[[Southwest Times Record|The Fort Smith Times]]|location=Fort Smith, Arkansas|date=May 29, 1904|page=4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29072751/|via=Newspapers.com|quote=In speaking of his trip Mr. Collins said: '…I ran across three towns in the Indian Territory in which negroes are not allowed to live, and they are Holdenville, [[Norman, Oklahoma|Norman]] and Blackmore. In Holdenville there is one negro, and he is cooking at one of the hotels, but there is talk of compelling him to leave. In the three towns mensioned no negro can either rent a house or buy land. …'}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Considers Conspiracy Law|work=The Wagoner Echo|location=Wagoner, Indian Territory|date=November 19, 1904|page=5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29387086/|via=Newspapers.com|quote=Now in [[Durant, Oklahoma|Durant]] and other towns in the Central District, and for that matter, in Holdenville, [[Ada, Oklahoma|Ada]] and other towns in the territory notices had been posted for the Negroes not to let the sun go down on them in said towns.}}</ref>

On April 27, 2024, [[Tornado outbreak of April 26–28, 2024|an EF3 tornado]] struck the town as part of a larger tornado outbreak that affected the Great Plains region, causing two fatalities and extensive damage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.koco.com/article/sulphur-holdenville-oklahoma-tornadoes-deaths-injuries/60628038|title=What we know: At least 2 dead in Holdenville; Sulphur sees significant damage after tornado outbreak|author=Jonathan Greco|date=April 28, 2024|website=KOCO News|accessdate=April 28, 2024}}</ref>