Editing Wynona, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
An Osage-Cherokee rancher, Antoine Rogers, settled in the area that would become the town of Wynona in 1871, after the Osage tribe had been removed from Kansas to Indian Territory by the U. S. Government. In 1903, the [[Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway]] (also known as the MK&T or Katy railroad) built a line across Rogers's land. A store was built adjacent to the track, and that event is considered the establishment of Wynona, which soon became a cattle shipping point.<ref name="EOHC-Wynona"/>

The Osage Townsite Company began development of the town in 1909. By the end of the year, the population grew from 20 to more than 150 residents. The first local newspaper, a weekly named the ''Wynona Enterprise'',  appeared in August 1909.{{efn|Eventually there would be five more periodicals in Wynona, including the ''Wynona Record'' and the ''Wynona Argosy''.<ref name="EOHC-Wynona"/>}}<ref name="EOHC-Wynona"/>

Oil was discovered near Wynona in 1914, and led to the creation of Wynona Oil and Gas Company. This caused an influx of new residents to support the local oil industry. Wynona's 1920 census reported 2,749 inhabitants. Wynona remained important for its agriculture and ranching business. Ranchers diversified into producing hogs, poultry and dairy products. However, the town failed to put in electric service and paved streets, causing some businessmen to move elsewhere. The end of the boom in Osage County oil production and the onset of the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] caused the population to decline sharply to 1,171 in 1930 and to 652 in 1960. The MK&T abandoned its rail  line in 1977.<ref name="EOHC-Wynona"/>

On March 22, 1946, the town was [[Tornadoes of 1946#March 22|struck by a violent tornado]], estimated by tornado expert [[Thomas P. Grazulis]] to have been F4 intensity on the [[Fujita scale]]. The tornado destroyed a power plant, 15 homes, and damaged ten other homes as it travelled along a short path of {{convert|3|mi|km}} with a width of {{convert|800|yd|m}}. A {{convert|500|lbs|kg}} piece of machinery was carried for {{convert|0.5|mi|km}} by the tornado. Damage was estimated at $150,000 (1946 [[United States Dollar|USD]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grazulis |first1=Thomas P. |title=Significant tornadoes, 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events |date=1993 |publisher=Environmental Films |location=St. Johnsbury, Vermont |isbn=1-879362-03-1 |pages=922–925}}</ref>