Editing Perry, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
===19th century===
The [[Treaty of New Echota]], May 23, 1836, assigned the [[Cherokee Outlet]] to the [[Cherokee]]s as a perpetual outlet to use for passage to travel and hunt in the West from their reservation in the eastern part of what became Oklahoma. This was in addition to the land given to the Cherokees for settlement after their arrival from their home in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].

[[File:Sunrise in Perry Oklahoma.jpg|thumb|Sunrise in Perry (2007)]]

Perry's original name was '''Wharton''', the name of a train station built in 1886 by the Southern Kansas Railway (part of the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] system) about 1 mile south of the present city and it was located within the Outlet.  Before the 1893 Cherokee Outlet Opening, the U.S. government selected a site a mile north of Wharton for a land office. A town around the office was named after J.A. Perry, a man sent by the government to lay out land office towns.<ref name="EOHC-Perry">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PE017  Mildred Highfill,   "Perry." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.] Accessed October 21, 2013.</ref> Perry later became one of the township location commissioners. Noble County, then known as "County P", was named after [[John Willock Noble]] of St. Louis, the Interior Secretary for President [[William Henry Harrison]].<ref name="perry ok his">
{{cite web|url=http://www.perryok.org/history.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010220231252/http://www.perryok.org/history.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2001|title=EARLY HISTORY OF PERRY, OKLAHOMA|author=Fred R. Belk|access-date=6 March 2011}}
</ref>

The [[Dalton Gang]], which at that time included [[Bob Dalton (outlaw)|Bob Dalton]], [[Emmett Dalton]], [[Charlie Bryant]] and [[George Newcomb]] entered Wharton to rob a train in May 1891 earning $1745.  Shortly after the robbery, Bryant fell ill and was taken to [[Hennessey, Oklahoma|Hennessey]] to see a doctor.  After being spotted and arrested by Deputy Marshal Ed Short.  During an escape attempt Bryant and Short would kill each other.<ref name="slinger">
{{cite web |url=http://www.gunslinger.com/dalton.html |title=The Dalton Gang |author=gunslinger.com |publisher=gunslinger.com |access-date=6 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719031305/http://www.gunslinger.com/dalton.html |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}
</ref> Among those within the boundary of the Strip prior to the opening, were the notorious [[Bill Doolin]] gang. A Santa Fe train was robbed at Wharton before the opening, and the gang escaped into Osage County. U.S. Marshall [[Evett Dumas Nix|E.D. Nix]] and 100 deputies were commissioned to police the area and keep order.<ref name="perry ok his"/>
 
[[Land Run of 1893|At noon on September 16, 1893, "a run" for land within "the Strip" was opened.]]  An estimated 90,000 men, women, and children took part and by nightfall 40,000 had erected tents in Perry.  Jack Tearney started at the county line and reached Perry within 31 minutes.  By 4:00&nbsp;p.m. he had erected and opened the "Blue Bell" saloon selling beer the first day for $1.00 a bottle, due to the scarcity of water.  He would sell 38,000 glasses.<ref name="perry ok his"/>

Named "Hell's Half Acre", the original town's perimeter included A & F streets and 1st and 9th streets.  About 110 saloons and gambling houses were in operation with many of them set up 1/2 block east of the west side of the now existing square.<ref name="perry ok his"/>

Perry incorporated on September 20, 1893.<ref name="EOHC-Perry"/>

===20th century===
In 1902, Carl Malzahn, a German immigrant, moved to Perry and opened the Malzahn Blacksmith Shop with his sons, Charles (Charlie) and Gus. The sons took over the business in 1913 and renamed it Malzahn Brothers' General Blacksmithing, specializing in repairing equipment for the nearby oil fields.  After Gus died in 1928, the surviving brother renamed the business, Charlie’s Machine Shop. Charlie's son, Ed, a mechanical engineer, joined the business in 1944. Ed noticed a need for a machine to replace hand digging trenches for the installation of residential utility lines, and set to work developing such a device. By 1948, he had a successful device, a compact trencher, which he called the [[Ditch Witch]]. Soon, Ditch Witch became a successful company, wholly owned by the now-renamed Charles Machine Works Company, since 2019 a subsidiary of [[The Toro Company]].  It has grown into the largest employer in Perry and in Noble County, employing approximately 1,300 people.<ref name="EOHC-DW">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=DI010 Hannemann, Carolyn G. "Ditch Witch." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.] Accessed November 17, 2016.</ref>

[[Timothy McVeigh]] was stopped on April 19, 1995, along [[Interstate 35 in Oklahoma|Interstate 35]] outside of Perry by [[Oklahoma Highway Patrol]] Trooper Charlie Hanger. Trooper Hanger had passed McVeigh's yellow 1977 [[Mercury Marquis]] and noticed it had no license plate. He arrested McVeigh for carrying a loaded firearm. Three days later, while still in jail, McVeigh was identified as the subject of a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrator of the [[Oklahoma City bombing]], which had happened on the day of McVeigh's arrest.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/ok042295.htm Arrest of Timothy McVeigh]</ref><ref>[http://countyext.okstate.edu/nwdistrict/County%20Extension%20Offices/noble.htm] Noble County Information</ref>

===21st century===
Perry moved from a strong mayor form of government to a Home Rule Charter. The town is in the process of transitioning to a City Manager. {{citation needed|date=October 2010}}

Operating under the Home Rule Charter form of government, the City of Perry divides its responsibilities between the city council and the city manager. The city council acts as the legislative branch, establishing ordinances, setting policy, authorizing budgets, and directing the city manager when appropriate. The city manager oversees day-to- day operations and administration of the city. Together with city staff, the city manager and city council work to make the most efficient use of the limited resources available to the City of Perry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityofperryok.com/,%20https://www.cityofperryok.com/government|title=City of Perry Oklahoma - Government|website=www.cityofperryok.com|access-date=2019-04-01}}</ref>

{{as of|2001|2}}, it is the smallest town in Oklahoma with a daily newspaper.<ref name="perry ok his" />