Editing Tonkawa, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Named after the [[Tonkawa]] tribe, the city of Tonkawa was founded in March 1894 by Eli V. Blake and Wiley William Gregory. Blake and Gregory, originally from [[Kansas]], claimed the land that would become Tonkawa in the [[Land Run of 1893]]. Prior to the land run, from 1879 to 1885, the area was known as "Fort Oakland", home to the [[Nez Perce people]]. In 1885, the remnants of the Tonkawa tribe, who had fled Indian Territory after the 1862 [[Tonkawa Massacre]], returned to settle in the Fort Oakland area. The [[Blackwell and Southern Railway]] (later bought by the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]) built a line through Tonkawa, which stimulated growth of the town. In 1901, the Oklahoma Territory Legislature established the University Preparatory School (now [[Northern Oklahoma College]]) here. By statehood, the population was 1,238. The discovery of oil caused a [[oil boom|boom]] in the 1920s, and the population was 3,311 in 1930.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/T/TO004.html |accessdate=2010-03-15 |last=Wilson |first=Linda D. |title=Tonkawa |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602143256/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/T/TO004.html |archivedate=2010-06-02 }}</ref>

===Camp Tonkawa===
During World War II, Tonkawa was home to Camp Tonkawa, a [[prisoner-of-war camp]]. Camp Tonkawa remained in operation from August 30, 1943, to September 1, 1945.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rebelcherokee.labdiva.com/ctypowcamps.html|title = OK Counties POW Camps/Escapes}}</ref> Built between October and December 1942, the {{convert|160|acre|km2|adj=on}} site contained more than 180 wooden structures for 3,000 German POWs as well as 500 U.S. Army guard troops, service personnel and civilian employees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6J0E_Camp_Tonkawa_World_War_II_German_POW_Camp_Tonkawa_OK |title=Camp Tonkawa - World War II German POW Camp ~ Tonkawa, OK - Oklahoma Historical Markers on Waymarking.com |accessdate=2010-03-15 }}</ref> The first prisoners, consisting of German troops from the [[Afrika Korps]], arrived in August 1943. During their internment, prisoners labored at local farms and ranches. In November 1943, a prison riot caused the death of a German soldier, [[Johannes Kunze]]. Eight prisoners briefly escaped, only to be recaptured.