Editing Jefferson County, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
In the 1750s, the [[Taovaya]] Indians, a [[Wichita people|Wichita]] tribe, established twin villages along the [[Red River of the South|Red River]], in Jefferson County and across the river near present-day [[Spanish Fort, Texas]]. The village became "a lively emporium where [[Comanche people|Comanches]] brought [[Apache]] slaves, horses and mules to trade for French packs of powder, balls, knives, and textiles and for Taovaya-grown maize, melons, pumpkins, squash, and tobacco."<ref>Elam, Earl Henry, "Anglo-American Relations with the Wichita Indians in Texas, 1822–1859."  Master's Thesis, Texas Technological College, 1967, 11</ref>

In 1759, in response to the destruction of the [[Mission San Saba|San Saba Mission]], the Spanish led an expedition against the Taovaya and their allies and attacked the twin villages. The Indians defeated the Spanish army.  (See [[Battle of the Twin Villages]])  The Taovaya villages were abandoned before 1841 as the Taovaya had been decimated by [[smallpox]] and encroachment by other Indians and Anglo-Americans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hns64|title=SPANISH FORT, TX|last=ANNE|first=MORRELL, LEA|date=June 15, 2010|website=www.tshaonline.org|language=en|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>

In the 1830s, the Choctaw tribe acquired more than two-thirds of the land now covered by Jefferson County, and the closely related Chickasaw tribe began to relocate there. In 1855, the two tribes formally divided and this area became part of the [[Chickasaw Nation]]. The western part of the present county became part of the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation, created by the 1867 [[Medicine Lodge Treaty]]. That area was opened to settlement by non-Indians by the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Opening in 1901.<ref name="EOHC-JeffersonCo"/>

After the Civil War, the [[Chisholm Trail]], which passed through this area, was heavily used to drive cattle from Texas to markets in Kansas. In 1892, the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway]] laid tracks along the trail route. The Enid and Anadarko Railway, sold to the Rock Island in 1903, built a line from [[Lawton, Oklahoma|Lawton]] to Waurika. The Wichita Falls and Oklahoma Railroad built the last railroad in the county in 1923, from Texas to Waurika. It went out of business in 1942.<ref name="EOHC-JeffersonCo"/> A railway line was built from Ardmore to Ringling.

Until statehood, the territory of the present-day county was part of [[Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation]].<ref>Charles Goins, ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), plate 105.</ref>

Statehood in 1907 brought about the demise of the Chickasaw government and creation of Jefferson County. At that time the southeast corner of the county extended to Mud Creek including the communities of Belleville and Courtney. In 1924 the southeast corner of the county was realigned to its current boundary. The Oklahoma Constitutional Convention named [[Ryan, Oklahoma|Ryan]] as the county seat. An election for the seat was held in 1908 between Ryan, [[Sugden, Oklahoma|Sugden]] and Waurika, but none of the towns won a majority. Another election was held in 1912, resulting in Waurika being named as the county seat.<ref name="EOHC-JeffersonCo"/>