County of city: Texas County
Location of city: central to county, county is center county of the three in the Panhandle of Oklahoma
Location of courthouse: 319 N. Main St., Guymon
Elevation: 3,123 ft (952 m)
Population: 12,272 (2013)
"The Louisiana Purchase first established the eastern boundary of the Oklahoma Panhandle in 1803. The northern boundary of Texas ( southern boundary of No Man's Land ), when it entered the United States, was set by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and extended for Texas (Texas wanted to enter as a slave state and the Compromise forbade any slave state north of the parallel). Texas ceded the territory north of 36°30' to the Union, settling the southern boundary.
"Kansas claimed the 37th parallel as its southern boundary in 1861, becoming the northern boundary of No Man's Land. In 1863, New Mexico was given its present boundaries upon the formation of the Arizona Territory (the western border of No Man's Land)
"The area not claimed by Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas became known as No Man's Land, The Strip, and The Neutral Strip. In 1890, the Organic Act was signed and No Man's Land was joined with Indian Territory to form Oklahoma Territory.
"Edward T. "E.T." Guymon was born in Illinois in 1859. In his early 20s, he came west to McPherson, Kansas, where he worked as a grocery store clerk. Eventually, Mr. Guymon acquired an interest in the store.
"The Rock Island Railroad began pushing southwest in the spring of 1888, and reached Liberal, Kansas. Mr. Guymon established the Star Grocery Company in Liberal.
"In the 1890s Mr. Guymon speculated the next town to come up along the future railroad would be west of the Beaver River. He purchased a section of land, which eventually became the original town of Guymon.
"First named Sanford, the railroad changed the name to avoid confusion with the city of Stratford further down the line. The Rock Island officials telegraphed Guymon and asked his permission to name the town Guymon.
"E.T. Guymon established the Star Mercantile on the site now occupied by Stanfield Printing. He was the largest stockholder and first president of the City National Bank.
"Today, Guymon has a population of an estimated 14,000 people. It is in the center of what was once called "No Man's Land". This area started out with ranching and continues so today.
"Farming grew rapidly after the discovery of the Ogalala Aquifer and the natural gas reserves. The abundance of wheat, corn, and milo prompted the development of the feedlots and then the beef processing plants.
"Today Guymon has added pork production to its many agriculture pursuits. Guymon is home to a pork processing plant, which processes 16,000 hogs per day. The past 10 years has seen very rapid growth in the business community, with the addition of this plant and other businesses. Change often is what signals growth, and Guymon has both growth and change. But what you see today is a healthy town with a very young population (according to the last census Texas County has the largest percentage of population in the state of preschool children). The future is bright for this town and its citizens, both those who have been here for many generations and for those who are putting down new roots in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
"As the largest town in the 6,000 square mile Oklahoma Panhandle, Guymon is the hub and, often, the place to shop. Because of the large customer area, the town boasts a nice selection of retail businesses." ~ City of Guyman