Editing Opelika, Alabama (section)

==History==
The Opelika area was first settled in 1832 after the Treaty of Cusseta<ref>{{Cite web |title=Treaty of Cusseta (1832) |url=http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3083 |access-date=September 2, 2022 |website=Encyclopedia of Alabama |language=en}}</ref> was signed by the U.S. government and the Creek Nation. This treaty placed the land, and all other Creek territories east of the Mississippi River, under the possession of the United States government. Though the territory now belonged to the U.S., Opelika kept its [[Muscogee language|Creek]] name, which translates to "large swamp",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Opelika {{!}} Alabama, United States {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Opelika |access-date=September 2, 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> from ''opilwa'' (swamp) and ''lako'' (big).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Read |first1=William A. |title=Indian Places Names in Alabama |date=1984 |publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |location=Tuscaloosa |isbn=9780817302313 |page=50 |edition=2nd |url=https://www.uapress.ua.edu/9780817302313/indian-place-names-in-alabama/ |access-date=1 September 2024}}</ref>

Two decades after settlement, Opelika was chartered as a town on February 9, 1854,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Opelika |url=http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2138 |access-date=September 2, 2022 |website=Encyclopedia of Alabama |language=en}}</ref> thanks to its rapid growth. This growth was due to the Montgomery & West Point Railroad Company's rail lines, which traversed the town and served as major means of transportation for unprocessed cotton between the northern and southern territories.<ref name=":0" />

Opelika later received a new charter in 1870, and its rapid growth continued. The town nearly doubled in size between 1870 and 1900.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Opelika's downtown was packed with [[bar (establishment)|saloons]] catering to railroad workers and other men. Frequent gunfire in the street by intoxicated patrons resulted in railroads directing their passengers to duck beneath the windows when their trains passed through the town.<ref name="nyt">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9806E0D6143DE533A25756C1A9649D94639FD7CF "The Battle Of The Bar-rooms; Murderous Factions Fights In Alabama—Death Of Maloney In Opelika"], ''New York Times'', December 15, 1882, accessed April 4, 2016.</ref>

In 1882, two factions claimed to rule the city government, one known as the "Bar room" headed by Mayor Dunbar, a saloon keeper, and another known as the "Citizens". In a riot in late November–December of that year, a dozen men were wounded. In the end, a few were killed. The Citizens had claimed control of the city via the elections, but Dunbar refused to give up. After continued violence, the state legislature revoked the city's charter and the governor sent in the [[militia]] to restore order. The legislature appointed five commissioners to manage the city,<ref name="nyt"/> a situation that continued until 1899. That year, the legislature restored the city's charter.