Editing Marietta, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Settlers were attracted by the fertile land near the Red River, which was conducive to agriculture and cattle raising. Cotton quickly became the principal crop. William "Bill" Washington had the largest cattle ranch in Pickens County, [[Chickasaw Nation]], [[Indian Territory]]. Bill's brother, Jeremiah Calvin Washington (Jerry), who lived about a mile north of present-day Marietta on the Washington Ranch which has a historical marker and is lived in by a Washington descendant's extended family, became the town's first postmaster when the post office opened on December 20, 1887. He was a banker and gentleman rancher. A local story claims that the town was named for Jerry's wife, Marietta Love Washington.<ref name="EOHC-Marietta">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=MA024  Tommie L. Horn, "Marietta,"  ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.] Retrieved October 20, 2013.</ref>

At the time of its founding, Marietta was located in [[Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation]].<ref>Charles Goins, ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), p. 105.</ref>

The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (later the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]) laid its rail line in early 1887, stimulating economic growth for the future town of Marietta, Indian Territory. The first train ran July 28, 1887.<ref name="EOHC-Marietta"/>

Marietta had 1,391 settlers at the time of Oklahoma Statehood in 1907. The [[Love County Courthouse]], one of four sites in the town listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Love County, Oklahoma|NRHP]], was the first built after statehood in Oklahoma and was completed in 1910. There were 1,546 residents in the 1910 census, and the town was served by at least three banks, three churches and 24 retail establishments.<ref name="EOHC-Marietta"/>

The northwestern part of town was hit by a violent [[Tornado outbreak of April 26–28, 2024#Marietta–Dickson–Baum, Oklahoma|EF4 tornado on April 27, 2024]]. A large [[Dollar Tree]] metal distribution warehouse was shredded with part of the structure collapsing. The tornado flattened the dollar general store and the next door [[Homeland (supermarket)|Homeland]] was partially blown out when a large wall collapsed. One person was killed on [[Interstate 35 in Oklahoma|I-35]].<ref>{{cite web |title=ArcGIS Web Application |url=https://apps.dat.noaa.gov/stormdamage/damageviewer/ |website=apps.dat.noaa.gov |access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref name="2024 Tornado Outbreak and Flash Flooding Event">{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=NOAA |title=The April 27–28, 2024 Tornado Outbreak and Flash Flooding Event |url=https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-20240427 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=www.weather.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref>