STILLWATER
David L. Payne hatched a plan. He was going to set up a town in Indian Territory. There was only one hitch; Indian Territory
had yet to be opened to white settlers. He and other visionaries put their heads together and started the Boomer Movement. They worked hard to get the government to open the land that would become Oklahoma to settlers. Payne even started the Oklahoma War Chief, a newspaper that he used to promote this land being opened to white settlers.
He and his cohorts would sneak into Indian Territory, looking for the perfect place for their little town. Eventually, they found the location for their town. They sold shares from Winfield, Kansas for what would eventually become Stillwater. Unfortunately, Payne passed away before the Land Run of 1889 and he never saw his dream become a reality.
The cannon was fired and off ran all the shareholders to make their claim for Stillwater. Wagons, buckboards, bicycles and even people on foot and horseback raced to get the best land they could. Many settled in the Stillwater area. Seven months after that historical event that led to Oklahoma becoming a state in 1907, Stillwater had more than 50 businesses, 158 residences, 58 other structures and 21 wells. One year later, the 1890 census reported Stillwater had a population of 569 people. That same year, the Payne County
Courthouse was built in Stillwater. The original courthouse burned around the turn of the century and the records of the Land Run and the early settlers in Stillwater were forever lost.
In 1891, Oklahoma State University began, known then as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College. Understanding the need for higher education and the importance of the federal money it bring it, Stillwater fought hard to have the college within its city limits. Perkins was Stillwater's competition in getting the land-grant college. Oklahoma A&M held its first classes in the Congregational Church building at Sixth and Duncan Streets. Three years later, in 1984, a new college building was completed, now known as Old Central. Since its humble beginnings, OSU has grown into a well-respected university with one of the finest Schools of Veterinary Medicine in the world.