WOODWARD

city, seat (1907) of Woodward County, northwestern Oklahoma, U.S. The city lies along the North Canadian River. It was originally a train stop, settled in 1893 when the Cherokee Strip was opened for homesteading, and was probably named for Brinton W. Woodward, an official of the Santa Fe Railway. Woodward is a marketing and processing centre for a wheat and cattle region and is the base for several oil and gas companies. The U.S. Great Plains Experiment Station at Woodward is concerned primarily with crops and range pasturing. A tornado destroyed much of Woodward on April 9, 1947. Boiling Springs State Park is nearby. Inc. 1907. Pop. (1990) 12,340.