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Midland is the county seat of Midland County located on the Southern Plains of the western area of the U.S. State of Texas. It is the principal city of and is included in the Midland, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Midland-Odessa, Texas Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 100,378. The Midland–Odessa metropolitan area, however, had a population of 246,710. Midland was originally founded as the midway point between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1881. The city has received national recognition as the hometown of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.
History Midland was originally called Midway because of its location between Fort Worth and El Paso, however the name was soon changed to Midland to avoid confusion with other towns in Texas named Midway. Once a small town based on farming and ranching, Midland was forever changed by the discovery of oil in the Permian Basin in 1923. Soon, Midland was transformed into the administrative center of the West Texas oil fields. Today, the Permian Basin produces a fifth of the nation's total petroleum and natural gas output. Nicknamed "The Tall City", Midland has a remarkable skyline for a city its size. For many years, the Wilco Building in downtown Midland was the tallest building between Fort Worth and Phoenix. Today, Midland's tallest building is the Bank of America Building, which stands at a height of 332 feet. Four buildings over 500 feet tall were planned in the 1980s, including one designed by world famous architect I.M. Pei. The great Oil Bust of the mid-1980's, however, killed any plans for future skyscrapers. Today, Midland's economy still relies heavily on petroleum, however the city has also diversified to become a regional telecommunications and distribution center. Geography Midland is located at (32.005072, -102.099239). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 173.0 km² (66.8 mi²). 172.5 km² (66.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.28%) is water. Climate
Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 94,996 people, 35,674 households, and 25,221 families residing in the city. The population density was 550.6/km² (1,426.2/mi²). There were 39,855 housing units at an average density of 231.0/km² (598.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.51% White, 8.37% African American, 0.63% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 12.49% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.99% of the population. There were 35,674 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.19. In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $39,320, and the median income for a family was $48,290. Males had a median income of $37,566 versus $24,794 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,884. About 10.1% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over. Attractions Perched on the Llano Estacado, a stark treeless plain that has been extensively overgrazed by ranchers, Midland is not known for scenic beauty, unless the visitor is keen on seeing a Cormac McCarthy-esque landscape of pumpjacks, horned lizards, mesquite and caliche. Midland's main attraction therefore is oil: lots and lots of oil. Sitting near the center of the Permian Basin, Midland welcomes geologists, petroleum engineers, landmen, and financial speculators to help extract the oil from one of the largest deposits in North America. For the Midland visitor curious to know more about this endeavor, there is the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum. Located on the outskirts of town near Interstate 20, the museum houses numerous displays on the history, science, and technology of oil and gas development. The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum also houses a collection of race cars designed by Jim Hall, a long time Midland resident who pioneered the use of aerodynamic downforce in the design of Formula One cars. Other Midland attractions of note include Dennis the Menace Park, Green Acres Miniature Golf Course, the "Festival of Lights" held each Christmas in the Racquet Club neighborhood, San Jacinto Junior High School (where George W. Bush briefly attended school), and one ofthe city's two Starbucks. Midland has Midland International Airport, which serves Midland, nearby Odessa, Texas and a large region of West Texas and southeast New Mexico. The airport is considered the gateway to the Big Bend Region of Texas, and Big Bend National Park. Midland is home to the Midland RockHounds, a Texas League minor league baseball team. Midland is a sister city to Dongying, a city situated near China's second largest known oil field. A modest pagoda located at the Beal Complex, was donated by Dongying. Famous citizens
Lesser Known Trivia Many major motion pictures have been filmed in and around Midland, including Hangar 18, Waltz Across Texas, Fandango, Blood Simple, Hard Country, Friday Night Lights, Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure, and others. The City of Midland has no ordinances for either the prohibition or zoning of sexually related businesses (such as gentlemen's clubs), yet not a single one has successfully set up shop there. Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter pledged publicly in 2003 and 2004 to run any attempt at starting a sexually oriented business out of town through intimidation, which has fueled worry that the lack of ordinances is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Midland's sister city of Odessa, Texas (20 miles west), however, hosts a significant presence of strip clubs and adult video stores throughout Ector County. This fact seems to bolster the local saying, "You raise kids in Midland, you raise hell in Odessa." As of August 2006, a busy period of crude oil production had caused a significant workforce deficit. According to the Midland Chamber of Commerce, there were almost 2,000 more jobs available in the Permian Basin than there were workers to fill them. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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