Sulphur is a city in and county seat of Murray County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,929 at the 2010 census, a 3.4 percent gain from 4,794 at the 2000 census. The area around Sulphur has been noted for its mineral springs, since well before the city was founded late in the 19th Century. The city received its name from the presence of sulfur in the water.HistoryThis area was part of the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory during the late 19th Century. The first known settler was Noah Lael, son-in-law of former Chickasaw Governor Cyrus Harris, who built a ranch south of Pavilion Springs in 1878. In 1882, Harris sold the ranch to Perry Froman, a part Chickasaw rancher. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture says the ranch house was the first residence in Sulphur.About 1890, a group of fisherman built a clubhouse at the Sulphur site. Conventions and other gatherings began meeting in the vicinity during the early 1890s. The clubhouse owners enlarged the building and sold it for use as a hotel. Richard A. Sneed, a lawyer who visited the area about 1890 and soon after organized the Sulphur Springs Company. The company bought 600acres of land from Froman Ranch and platted a townsite. A post office named Sulphur was established October 2, 1895. The Sulphur Headlight, the first newspaper in town, began publication in 1899, and the first telephone exchange in town went into service in 1900.In 1902, the Sulphur Springs Railroad was constructed from Sulphur to Scullin, a distance of 6miles, where it connected to the newly completed St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (Frisco). The Frisco bought the Sulphur Springs Railroad in 1907.
