WILLISTON

city, seat of Williams County, northwestern North Dakota, U.S., on the Missouri River. Originally called Little Muddy, it was first settled in the 1870s by Robert Matthews, who cut hay for cavalry horses at Ft. Buford (now restored as a state historic site), southwest of the city. An important factor in the community's growth was the arrival of the Great Northern Railway (1887) and the location there of division headquarters. It was then renamed by James J. Hill, builder and first president of the railway, for a stockholder friend, S. Willis James of New York City. The economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has become diversified. The development of oil wells and refineries, following the discovery of oil (1951) in the Williston Basin, has given the economy new impetus. Livestock raising and the growing of grain, especially wheat, are still important, with water from the Garrison Dam project easing the threat of drought, such as that which ravaged the area in the 1930s. The Williston Center of the University of North Dakota was opened in 1957. Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site is nearby to the west. Inc. village, 1894; city, 1904. Pop. (1990) 13,131.