Editing Purcell, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Purcell was at the north end of the [[Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway]], owned by the AT&SF. Today, [[Amtrak]] serves the town with the ''[[Heartland Flyer]]'' at the [[Purcell (Amtrak station)|station]] near the old AT&SF depot.<ref name="EOHC-Purcell"/>

Purcell was the only town on the border of the Unassigned Lands, and began attracting hopeful settlers even before the [[Land Rush of 1889]]. Town lots went on sale April 5, 1887, and a post office was established 16 days later. The ''Purcell Register'', the town's oldest newspaper, was established in 1887, and continued operating into the 21st Century. Residents elected the town's first mayor, James Taylor Bradley, on August 13, 1895. The town was incorporated on October 3, 1898.<ref name="EOHC-Purcell"/>

Located on the Canadian River, it was called the "Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation." In 1895, one of the five district courts of the Chickasaw Nation was located in Purcell, with the first session opening November 18, 1895. The court house escaped destruction the next day, when a fire destroyed most of the buildings in the business district.<ref name="EOHC-Purcell"/>

Construction of the [[Oklahoma Central Railroad (1914–1942)|Oklahoma Central Railroad]] ("OCR"), which would connect the Lehigh coal mines with Chickasha, reached Purcell in March 1907. The OCR located its main yards, barns and most of its equipment in Purcell. Although the OCR went bankrupt in the following year, its assets were acquired by the AT&SF.<ref name="EOHC-Purcell"/>