Stillwater, city, seat of Payne County, north central Oklahoma, at the junction of Boomer and Stillwater creeks; incorporated as a city 1899. It is a research and development center for automated engineering and laser and telecommunications equipment. Marine engines, business forms, wire, and hoses are also manufactured. It is the seat of Oklahoma State University (1890). A wrestling hall of fame is here. In 1884, a short-lived community was established nearby by illegal immigrants (called boomers) from Kansas. Stillwater itself was founded in April 1889, when the region was opened to settlement by the U.S. government; it is named for the slow-flowing Stillwater Creek here. Population 38,268 (1980); 36,676 (1990); 39,065 (2000).
