Editing Alfalfa County, Oklahoma (section)

===Statehood years onward===
The city of [[Cherokee, Oklahoma|Cherokee]] was designated as the county seat after being chosen by voters in an election held in January 1909. Other towns receiving votes for the honor were [[Carmen, Oklahoma|Carmen]], [[Ingersoll, Oklahoma|Ingersoll]], and [[Jet, Oklahoma|Jet]].<ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaCo"/>

Alfalfa County's population was primarily of European-American ancestry. European immigrants and their children were numerous in the early 1900s. [[Germans from Russia]] (ethnic Germans who immigrated to American from Russia), many of whom were [[Mennonites]], settled near [[Ingersoll, Oklahoma|Ingersoll]], [[Driftwood, Oklahoma|Driftwood]], Cherokee, and [[Goltry, Oklahoma|Goltry]]. Early censuses also reveal a considerable number of Bohemians from the Austro-Hungary Empire. At the turn of the twenty-first century, nearly 17 percent of county residents claimed German ancestry on the census.<ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaCo"/>  One Mennonite church (in Goltry) remained {{As of|2006|lc=y}}.<ref name=GAMEO>{{cite web|last1=Bergen|first1=JW|title=Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online - Alfalfa County (Oklahoma, USA)|url=http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Alfalfa_County_(Oklahoma,_USA)|website=Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online|publisher=GAMEO|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref>

Early railroad construction, from the Choctaw Northern line (1901), the [[Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway|Kansas City, Mexico and Orient]] (1901), the [[Arkansas Valley and Western Railway|Arkansas Valley and Western]] (1904), and the [[Denver, Enid and Gulf Railroad|Denver, Enid and Gulf Railroad Company]] (1904), contributed greatly to the county's early prosperity and caused many small towns to flourish. They would compete as wheat-shipping points and [[agribusiness]] centers for many years thereafter.<ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaCo"/>  However, by 2000 only one rail line, the [[BNSF Railway|Burlington Northern Santa Fe]], served the county.<ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaCo"/>

Petroleum exploration and production has been a contributor to Alfalfa County's economy since the time of statehood. Agricultural pursuits, including wheat farming and livestock raising, were major contributors to Alfalfa County's economy during the twentieth century. Small-scale agriculture in its early years supported dozens of towns and dispersed rural communities, many of which no longer exist as a result of transportation and economic changes. After construction of railroads, those towns bypassed by rail service, such as Carroll, Carwile, Keith, and Timberlake, did not prosper for long.

Restructuring of the railroad industry in the late 20th century resulted in abandonment of other lines, and towns such as Ingersoll and Driftwood, for example, had declining populations that made it difficult to sustain educational and city services. Ingersoll (founded 1901) peaked in 1910 with 253 inhabitants and Driftwood (founded 1898) in 1930 with 71. By 1980, neither of these towns was still incorporated. [[Aline, Oklahoma|Aline]], [[Amorita, Oklahoma|Amorita]], [[Burlington, Oklahoma|Burlington]], [[Byron, Oklahoma|Byron]], Carmen, Cherokee, Goltry, [[Helena, Oklahoma|Helena]], Jet, and [[Lambert, Oklahoma|Lambert]] remained incorporated as of 2000.<ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaCo"/>