Editing Webbers Falls, Oklahoma (section)

===20th century===
In 1907, Brewer's Academy opened as the first school. Named for Oliver Hazard Perry Brewer, a local politician who had served as the Cherokee Nation's Superintendent of Education in 1870 and 1876, and as the Board of Education President in 1881.<ref name="Jackson"/>

The town suffered a major fire that destroyed much of the business district in 1911. It was rebuilt in the following year, with the new structures mostly constructed of brick. These still stand.<ref name="Jackson"/>

The town got a rail line to [[Warner, Oklahoma]] in 1911 courtesy of the Webbers Falls, Shawnee and Western Railroad.<ref name=Railroads>{{cite web |url=https://digitalprairie.ok.gov/digital/collection/okresources/id/70321 |title=Webber Falls Railroad Company, Webber Falls, Shawnee and Western Railroad Company |publisher=Railroads of Oklahoma, June 6, 1870-April 1, 1978, p. 72-73 (accessed of Oklahoma Digital Prairie) |access-date=September 25, 2022 |archive-date=September 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926212850/https://digitalprairie.ok.gov/digital/collection/okresources/id/70321 |url-status=live }}</ref> That railway, which connected to the [[Midland Valley Railroad]] at Warner, ceased operations in 1914, was reorganized as the [[Webbers Falls Railroad]] in 1916, but was dismantled by 1918.<ref name=Railroads/><ref name=Newspaper>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16183074/railroad-and-marion-jefferson-maples/ |title=Will Put a New Service On The Webbers Falls Line |newspaper=Muskogee County Democrat |date=February 4, 1915 |page=9 |publisher=Muskogee County Democrat, February 4, 1915 (accessed on Newspapers.com) |access-date=September 24, 2022 |archive-date=September 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926212850/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16183074/railroad-and-marion-jefferson-maples/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YnwAAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22webbers+falls+railroad%22&pg=PA275 |title=Buying Whole Railroads and Reducing Them to Junk |year=1918 |publisher=Current Opinion, Volume 65, p.274-275, October 1918 |access-date=September 26, 2022 |archive-date=May 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526053135/https://books.google.com/books?id=YnwAAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22webbers+falls+railroad%22&pg=PA275#v=onepage&q=%22webbers%20falls%20railroad%22&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

Construction in 1970 of the [[Webbers Falls Lock and Dam]] created Webbers Falls Reservoir and Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam, created the [[Robert S. Kerr Reservoir]], both part of the [[McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System]] (MKARNS), operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It has boosted the local economy by attracting outdoor enthusiasts for recreation opportunities. The town population increased 57 percent between 1980 and 2000, from 461 to 726.<ref name="mayes"/> However, the population declined significantly by 2010.