Editing Sallisaw, Oklahoma (section)

==Economy==
The local economy was based on cotton farming during the town's early years. During the 1920s, the focus of the economy shifted to the production of lumber, oil and natural gas. A prison camp was established here during World War II. After the war, a variety of industrial and retail businesses were established.<ref name = "EOHC-Sallisaw"/>

The ''Sequoyah County Times'', founded by Wheeler Mayo in 1932, is called "the largest-circulation, non-metro, non-daily newspaper in Oklahoma." It was still owned by the Mayo family as of 2019.<ref name = "EOHC-Sallisaw"/>

East Cherokee Avenue is a [[business loop]], with Sallisaw's only mall, the Eastgate Shopping Center, originally a [[Walmart]] store, which was moved to 1101 W. Ruth Avenue in 2001. The Sallisaw Municipal Airport is located a half mile south of the intersection of I-40 and U.S. 59.

[[Blue Ribbon Downs]] (BRD), a horse racing venue, was established in Sallisaw during the 1960s by Bill Hedge. He sold the track to an investment group in 1973. Legalization of gambling on horse racing did not occur until 1982, so the first pari-mutuel race occurred August 30, 1984. This caused a short-term boom in track-related businesses. However, the popularity waned and the track struggled financially. The [[Choctaw Nation]] bought the facility in 2003 for $4.25 million, put in more capital and converted it to a "racino" that combined the race track with a casino.<ref name = "EOHC-Sallisaw"/> Despite the improvements, BRD was not a financial success and closed permanently in 2010. the Choctaw Nation tried to sell the operation on two occasions, but the deals fell through. Then, just one day before the track was to be sold at a sheriff's auction in November 2003, the Cherokee Nation purchased the property for $2.5 million. The Cherokee chief, Chad Smith, said that his nation did not plan to resume horse racing at the site, but is considering other options for using the land. He admitted that using the track as a training facility would also be considered.<ref>[http://newsok.com/article/3441892 Evans, Murray. "Cherokee chief: Racing done at Blue Ribbon Downs." NewsOK February 24, 2010.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424143414/http://newsok.com/article/3441892 |date=April 24, 2018 }}  Accessed October 13, 2016.</ref>

The only commercial manufacturing reported in Sallisaw has been the BorgWarner Morse Tech, a maker of auto parts and  plastic foam packing materials.<ref name = "EOHC-Sallisaw"/>