Foss, Oklahoma

Foss is a town in Washita County, Oklahoma, United States.

[4] The history of Foss began when settlers from the area of the Wilson post office moved four miles north to the valley of Turkey Creek in the late 1890s.

A flash flood on May 2, 1902, wiped out the town on Turkey Creek, destroying businesses and drowning several people.

[5][6] It had two banks, three cotton gins,[6] and by 1912 had an electric plant, two hotels and an opera house.

During World War II, the town boasted a population of over 300 residents, relying primarily on Route 66 travellers (which passed half a mile south of the city) and a U.S. naval base south of the town that operated during wartime.

Though in the 1950s and 1960s there was an economic revival due to the nearby Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base at Burns Flat.

When the base closed and Interstate 40 bypassed Foss the town declined further.

[8] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2), all land.

[9][10] The Washita National Wildlife Refuge is at the north end of Foss Reservoir.

Washita County map