Editing South Coffeyville, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
[[File:Oklahoma1885.jpg|thumb|left|Map of Indian Territory from 1889 [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] 9th edition]]
For millennia, the land now known as Oklahoma was inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} In the 17th century, white trappers first visiting the area found it occupied mostly by the [[Osage Nation|Osage]] and Quawpaw tribes.  In 1803, [[History of Oklahoma|modern Oklahoma]] was secured by the United States as part of the [[Louisiana Purchase]].  In 1819, the [[Arkansas Territory]] was organized, then was split in 1824 and 1828.  An 1828 treaty with the [[Cherokee Nation]] assigned the area of Nowata County to the Cherokees, who included it in 1856 in their newly created Cooweescoowee District.  The Cherokees and the [[Delaware]] signed a treaty in 1867.  In 1890, the area became part of the [[Oklahoma Territory]].  In 1907, [[Oklahoma]] became the 46th [[U.S. state]] and [[Nowata County, Oklahoma|Nowata County]] was founded.

In 1888, the first settlement in the area was established as '''Stevens''', a railhead tent and shack village, built just southwest of present South Coffeyville.  It was named after a [[Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway]] builder, Stevens could be found on railroad maps until about 1902 but was eventually abandoned.<ref name="history">[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/s/so012.html History of South Coffeyville; Oklahoma Historical Society.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119165105/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/S/SO012.html |date=November 19, 2012 }}</ref>

In 1906, a settlement called '''Polson''' was built approximately one mile northeast near the [[Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway]] and [[Missouri Pacific Railway]]s.  Now part of the [[Union Pacific]] railway, the [[Missouri Pacific Railway]] had reached the present South Coffeyville townsite in 1889.  The settlement was named after Martin and Earl Polson, early settlers, that designation was also short lived.<ref name="history"/>

On March 18, 1909, a post office was established and the settlement was renamed to '''Etchen''', in honor of a local citizen named John P. Etchen.<ref name="history"/>

On April 29, 1909, the settlement was renamed a final time to the current '''South Coffeyville''' and the ''South Coffeyville Times'' newspaper began publication soon after.  In August 1909, residents voted for incorporation.  The name of South Coffeyville was derived from nearby city of [[Coffeyville, Kansas]], which was named after James A. Coffey.<ref name="history"/>