Editing Tushka, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
[[File:Severe Storm ^ Tornado - Tushka, Okla. , April 26, 2011 -- A tornado hit the town of Tushka on April 14, destroying homes. Jeannie Warner-FEMA - DPLA - b74fa7be247941bb682e76d95a84184f.jpg|thumb|left|Tornado damage, 2011]]
In 1872, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway (Katy) built a track five miles south of [[Atoka, Oklahoma|Atoka]] in [[Atoka County, Choctaw Nation]] in the [[Indian Territory]] and created a settlement which it called Peck Switch, Indian Territory. The first post office was established in 1903. The name was changed to Lewis in 1905, honoring the first postmaster, Charles Lewis. In 1909, the community was renamed Dayton, but was changed during the same year to the present Tushka. ''Tushka'' is a Choctaw word meaning "warrior".<ref name="EOHC-Tushka">Hall, Dean and Dovie Walker. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Tushka." Retrieved January 3, 2013. [http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/T/TU024.html]</ref>

Tushka was first incorporated in 1915, but disincorporated after 15 years. There were 248 residents at the 1920 census. A fire destroyed most of the town during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]]. During [[World War II]], many of the remaining residents moved to [[California]] for work and never returned. The town incorporated again in 1968. Its population had recovered to 230 in 1970.<ref name="EOHC-Tushka"/>

Tushka was hit by a tornado on [[Tornado outbreak of April 14–16, 2011|April 14, 2011]], causing damage to much of the town, including the school, and causing two deaths.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Dean, Bryan |author2=Tricia Pemberton |name-list-style=amp |url=http://newsok.com/deadly-twister-leaves-a-lot-of-work-to-do/article/3559022 |title=Oklahoma tornadoes: Two people die in Atoka County twister |publisher=NewsOK.com |newspaper=[[The Oklahoman]] |date=April 16, 2011 }}</ref>