Before
No Man's Land was opened for settlers in 1890, the area now known as the
Oklahoma Panhandle was sparsely settled ranchland. After the opening, filing occurred on some of the land near the
CCC Ranch, mostly by the cowboys, and sold to the ranch as soon as proved up. Expansion of the
Rock Island Railroad tracks from
Liberal, Kansas to
Santa Rosa, New Mexico spurred the settlement's formation. A post office named
Loretta was established May 7, 1898, but anticipating the railroad, the post office in 1901 moved and changed its name to Texhoma, said name referring to the community's location on the state line. Very few claims were filed on until the railroad was assured. The town grew quickly to a population near 1,000, serving as the closest railroad town to the people who lived as far north and west as present
Boise City, and south into the
Texas Panhandle to the present town of
Gruver. ==Geography==