Editing Pensacola, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
The history of Pensacola began ''circa'' 1840, with the establishment of a way station on the old [[Texas Road]] at the Cabin Creek Crossing of the [[Grand River (Oklahoma)|Grand River]] (present-day [[Neosho River]]). Here, Joseph Lynch Martin (a.k.a. "Greenbrier Joe") established a [[trading post]] called Pensacola.<ref name="EOHC-Pensacola">{{cite web |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PE011 |title=Pensacola |publisher=Paul and June Venamon, Oklahoma Historical Society| accessdate=March 9, 2020}}</ref>

The [[Union Army]] commandeered Pensacola as a supply station between [[Fort Scott, Kansas]], and [[Fort Gibson]], [[Indian Territory]], during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Two battles between Union and [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] forces occurred here, resulting in the destruction of Pensacola.<ref name="EOHC-Pensacola"/>

Greenbrier Joe's son, Richard Martin, reestablished Pensacola in 1896, with a small store and a post office at his home, {{convert|3|mi|0}} south of the original location.<ref name="EOHC-Pensacola"/>

In 1909, James Sims Wilson, a settler from [[Kentucky]], established a ranch north of Pensacola and east of Grand River. The [[Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway|Missouri, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad]] came to this area in 1912. Its right of way crossed the Wilson ranch, and Wilson began planning a townsite that would be served by the Pensacola post office. He filed the Pensacola townsite plat in the office of the county clerk on April 2, 1912. Despite failure of the town bank in 1921 and the onset of the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], the announcement of a new dam project {{convert|5|mi|0}} to the east led to hope for growth to return. A [[chamber of commerce]] formed, and the town incorporated in 1938.<ref name="EOHC-Pensacola"/>

Pensacola never became more than a small country town supported by farming and cattle ranching. It was surrounded on three sides by the Wilson ranch. Moreover, until the [[Pensacola Dam]] and good roads were completed in 1943, commerce was limited. The population declined from 109 in 1940 to 48 in 1950.<ref name="EOHC-Pensacola"/>