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Originally established in 1901, the Frederick area was among the last of the Oklahoma Territory land to be opened to settlement. What is now Frederick used to be two towns: Gosnell and Hazel. In 1902 the towns combined in order to take advantage of the Blackwell, Enid and Southern Railroad. The new town was named Frederick, after the son of a railroad executive. Gosnell received the depot, and the residents of Hazel moved north to the new town of Frederick.

The first permanent settlers arrived in the area of the present town at the time of the Cherokee Outlet  land opening on September 16, 1893. The town received its name from Adam Bower, an early settler, because of its scenic location along the Cimarron River. The Bower family built a wooden building in which they opened a post office on April 18, 1894. One of Adam's sons, Clifford, served as the first postmaster.

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The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway (later part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad), built a track through Fairview. The first train arrived on August 20, 1903. The railroad soon established machine shops, a roundhouse, and a division office in the town.

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Fairview was originally within territorial Woods County, but became part of Major County upon its creation at statehood. It was designated as the county seat of Major County, which became permanent after an election December 22, 1908. It beat three competing communities that vied for the title: Cleo SpringsOrienta, and Ringwood. Fairview had 887 residents at statehood, increasing to 2,020 in 1910.

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