Editing Sulphur, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
This area was part of [[Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation]] in the [[Indian Territory]] during the late 19th century. The first known settler was Noah Lael, son-in-law of former Chickasaw Governor Cyrus Harris, who built a ranch south of Pavilion Springs in 1878. In 1882, Harris sold the ranch to Perry Froman, a part Chickasaw rancher. The ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' says the ranch house was the first residence in Sulphur.<ref name="EOHC-Sulphur"/>

About 1890, a group of fisherman built a clubhouse at the Sulphur site. Conventions and other gatherings began meeting in the vicinity during the early 1890s. The clubhouse owners enlarged the building and sold it for use as a hotel. Richard A. Sneed, a lawyer who visited the area about 1890 and soon after organized the Sulphur Springs Company. The company bought {{convert|600|acres|km2}} of land from Froman Ranch and platted a townsite. A post office named Sulphur was established October 2, 1895.<ref name="EOHC-Sulphur"/>  The ''Sulphur Headlight'', the first newspaper in town, began publication in 1899, and the first telephone exchange in town went into service in 1900.<ref name="OKGenWeb">[http://www.visitmurraycountyok.com/sulphur.html "Murray County, Oklahoma."] OK Gen Web. Accessed October 13, 2016.</ref>

In the late Spring of 1903, the [[Sulphur Springs Railway]] was completed between Sulphur and [[Scullin, Oklahoma|Scullin]], a distance of about {{convert|9|miles|km}}, connecting at Scullin to the newly completed [[St. Louis and San Francisco Railway |St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (Frisco)]].<ref name=SSR>{{cite web|url= https://www.okgenweb.net/~okmurray/Murray/sulphur_springs_railway_company.htm |title=Sulphur Springs Railway Company|publisher= Dennis Muncrief, OKGenWeb, June 2001|accessdate=November 1, 2021}}</ref><ref name="OKGenWeb"/> The Frisco bought the Sulphur Springs Railway in 1907.<ref name="EOHC-Sulphur"/><ref>{{cite web|url= https://digitalprairie.ok.gov/digital/collection/okresources/id/70316 |title=Sulphur Springs Railway|publisher=Railroads of Oklahoma, June 6, 1870-April 1, 1978, p. 81|accessdate=November 1, 2021}}</ref>

In 1902, the U.S. Government and the Chickasaw Nation agreed to preserve the area around the springs, and called it the Sulphur Springs Reservation, later renaming it as Platt National Park.{{efn| The park was named for Senator Orville H. Platt from Connecticut, who sponsored the legislation. For 74 years, Platt was Oklahoma's only National Park. Platt National Park was abolished by Congress, and made part of the much larger Chickasaw National Recreation Area (CNRA) in 1976, which included Lake of the Arbuckles.<ref name="ColdSplinters">[http://www.coldsplinters.com/2010/08/platt-national-parkoklahoma-oasis/ Cold Splinters. "Platt National Park/Oklahoma Oasis."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224105723/http://www.coldsplinters.com/2010/08/platt-national-parkoklahoma-oasis/ |date=December 24, 2013 }} Retrieved December 22, 2013.</ref> }} People and buildings were required to move out of the reservation area. The people resettled nearby, creating two communities, West Sulphur and East Sulphur, divided by Rock Creek. Another such move occurred in 1904, when the U.S, government decided to add another {{convert|200| acres|km2}} to the new park.<ref name="OKGenWeb"/> The reservation officially opened to the public on  April 29, 1904.<ref name="NPS-Creating the Park">[http://www.nps.gov/chic/historyculture/pnp-1900s.htm National Park Service. Chickasaw National Recreation Area.] "Creating the Park:1902-1910."Retrieved December 24, 2013.</ref>  Platt National Park was abolished by Congress and made part of the much larger Chickasaw National Recreation Area (CNRA) in 1976, which included Lake of the Arbuckles.<ref name="ColdSplinters">[http://www.coldsplinters.com/2010/08/platt-national-parkoklahoma-oasis/ Cold Splinters. "Platt National Park/Oklahoma Oasis."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224105723/http://www.coldsplinters.com/2010/08/platt-national-parkoklahoma-oasis/ |date=December 24, 2013 }} Retrieved December 22, 2013.</ref>

Sulphur defeated [[Davis, Oklahoma]] in an election in 1908 to determine the location of the county seat of the newly created Murray County.<ref name="EOHC-Sulphur"/>

A tornado touched down just northwest of the town on [[Tornado outbreak of May 7–10, 2016|May 9, 2016]]. It was rated EF3 and did severe damage to homes and trees in the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-20160509 |title=The Severe Weather and Tornado Outbreak of May 9, 2016 |publisher=National Weather Service |accessdate=17 July 2022}}</ref> Late at night on April 27, 2024, the city was hit by [[2024 Sulphur tornado|a destructive tornado]] as part of a much larger [[Tornado outbreak of April 26–28, 2024|tornado outbreak]] that impacted southern and northern parts of Oklahoma. There was one confirmed fatality in Sulphur, and the majority of the town suffered substantial damage as a direct hit of the tornado.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Money |first=Josh Dulaney and Jack |title=Gov. Kevin Stitt: Sulphur tornado damage the worst he's seen as governor |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2024/04/28/gov-kevin-stitt-says-sulphur-tornado-damage-the-worst-hes-seen-as-governor/73493838007/ |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=The Oklahoman |language=en-US}}</ref>