Meeker railroad

 when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a branch from Shawnee to Arkansas City, it bypassed Clifton and ran through the site of present Meeker, about two miles distant. Eventually Clifton residents moved to Meeker. In 1902–03 Walter and Rebecca Fowler and Julian L. and Lettitia Meeker deeded land to M. G. McKee, who had the town platted. The official plat was filed March 14, 1903. The residents selected the name of Meeker on May 29, 1903, because a town named Fowler already existed on the rail line. At 1907 statehood the population stood at 320, and it rose to 562 by 1930. It hovered between five hundred and seven hundred through the 1960s.