Editing Wakita, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Before the town's founding in 1898, there was a dispute over the right to name the town. The town's postmaster, and the owner of the first general store, and the town's first postmaster, believed it should be named Whiteville. Local Deputy U.S. Marshall Herbert John Green motioned for the town be named after a [[Cherokee]] chief of local significance named Wakita (pronounced Wok-ih-taw).<ref name= "EOHC-Wakita"/>  Green and other local settlers wanted to name the town in the chief's honor because of a protective spell cast by the chief's tribe to protect the area around the town, between Crooked Creek and Pond Creek, from tornadoes for 100 years. The name was also favored because of a battle that had occurred in the area under the leadership of this chief.

Citing historian George Shirk, the ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' states that ''Wakita'' is a Cherokee word for water collected in a small depression, such as a buffalo wallow. The same source states that Charles N. Gould claimed it was probably a Creek word meaning "to cry" or "to lament".<ref name="EOHC-Wakita"/>

The town was founded when the [[Cherokee Outlet]] was opened to non-Native American settlement on September 16, 1893. A post office opened November 14, 1893. The population grew when the Hutchison and Southern Railroad (later the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]) built a line through the area in 1897. At statehood in 1907, Wakita had 388 residents; by 1910, it had grown to 405.<ref name="EOHC-Wakita"/>

Wakita was selected as a filming location for the Hollywood blockbuster ''[[Twister (1996 film)|Twister]]'' (1996). In the film, the town is referred to by name, and the water tower bearing its name is shown.

On [[Tornado outbreak of May 10–13, 2010|May 10, 2010]], numerous tornadoes touched down in Grant County, causing significant damage near the Wakita area. However, the town itself was not destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Information About the May 10, 2010 Tornado Outbreak in Oklahoma|url=https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-20100510|publisher=National Weather Service Norman, Oklahoma|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref>