Editing Panama, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
A post office was established at Panama, Indian Territory on January 14, 1898.<ref>Shirk, George H. ''Oklahoma Place Names'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1965), p. 160.</ref>  At the time of its founding, Panama was located in [[Skullyville County, Choctaw Nation|Skullyville County]], part of the [[Moshulatubbee District]] of the [[Choctaw Nation]].<ref>Morris, John W. ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.</ref>

This town began as a coal mining community named Red Town because all of the miners' shacks were painted red. The origin of the town name of "Panama" is uncertain. Some historians claim that the name was inspired by the building of the Panama Canal.  But since the town was already called Panama by 1898, the inspiration would have to have been based on the unsuccessful French effort at building the canal which started 1881 and ended in 1889,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/history-and-philosophy-of-medicine/panama-canal/french-panama-canal-failure.html |title=The Panama Canal: A Triumph of American Medicine|publisher=University of Kansas Medical Center|accessdate=August 19, 2020}}</ref> and not the successful American effort which did not start until 1904 and was not completed until 1914.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.history.com/topics/landmarks/panama-canal |title= Panama Canal|publisher=History.com|accessdate=August 19, 2020}}</ref> In 1896 the [[Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad]] (trackage acquired by the [[Kansas City Southern Railway]] in 1900) built a north–south line through the region. The [[Midland Valley Railroad]] built an east–west line through the region in 1903–1904. The town of Panama moved to the crossing of the two railroads. The Panama post office first opened January 14, 1898, but the order was rescinded for some unknown reason on February 23, 1898. The post office reopened February 21, 1899.<ref name="EOHC-Panama">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PA009 Arlene LeMaster, "Panama," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed March 22, 2015.]</ref>

Panama was still supported by coal mining in 1930. The Ozark Coal and Mining Company had established itself there in 1898, however the coal mines began to close in the 1930s. A  creosote plant, established in 1937, provided some jobs for the former miners. The Panama Coal Company, which had engaged in strip mining, went bankrupt in 1977.<ref name="EOHC-Panama"/>