Editing Webb City, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Horace W. Webb, a native of [[Missouri]], settled just south of [[Grainola, Oklahoma]] in 1910. He continued to purchase land and opened the area's first school. The town of Webb City was incorporated on his land in September 1921. The post office opened in Webb City on December 16, 1922.<ref name = "EOHC-Webb"/>

Webb City was located at the northern end of the Burbank Oil Field, discovered in 1920. All mineral rights in Osage County were owned by the [[Osage Nation|Osage tribe]] of [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indians]]. The [[Osage Railway]], one of the [[Muskogee Roads]], built a line through the town in 1924 connecting Shidler and [[Lyman, Oklahoma]]. Although the oil find brought a degree of prosperity, Webb City never developed into a modern town. Water was scarce and there was no electricity. The business district had unpaved streets and most of the buildings were built of wood frame and false fronts.<ref name = "EOHC-Webb"/>

The town began to decline in the late 1920s, as the oil boom faded. In 1928, it was heavily damaged by a tornado, and many of the businesses did not rebuild. The decline continued through the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]]. Its high school closed in 1944, and consolidated with the high school in [[Shidler, Oklahoma|Shidler]]. The elementary school closed in 1956, and consolidated with the elementary school in Shidler. The Osage Railway was abandoned in 1955.<ref name = "EOHC-Webb"/><ref name="YouTube">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUAf00T-F7A "Ghost town of Webb City, Oklahoma."] Retrieved September 1, 2014.</ref>

The 1930 census (the first census taken in Webb City) showed 493 residents. The population declined thereafter.<ref name = "EOHC-Webb"/>