Midland, Texas



Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Midland County. The metropolitan area is also a component of the larger Midland–Odessa, Texas Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 266,941 as of July 1, 2009. People in Midland are called Midlanders.

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 former First Lady Laura Bush and a childhood home of former President George W. Bush.

History
Midland was originally established in June 1881 as Midway Station, on the Texas and Pacific Railway; it earned its name because of its central location between Fort Worth and El Paso. At times Midland was nicknamed "The Tall City." But because there were already other towns in Texas by the name of Midway, the city changed its name to Midland in January 1884 when it was granted its first Post Office. Midland became the county seat of Midland county in March 1885 when that county was first organized and separated from Tom Green County. By 1890 it had become one of the most important cattle shipping centers in the state. The city was first incorporated in 1906, and by 1910 the city established its first fire department along with a new water system.

Midland was forever changed by the discovery of oil in the Permian Basin in 1923 when the Santa Rita No. 1 well began producing in Reagan County, followed shortly by the Yates Oil Field in Iraan, Texas. Soon, Midland was transformed into the administrative center of the West Texas oil fields. During the second world war Midland was the biggest bombing base in the country. It is also the site of the CAF (Commemorative Air Force). It is the base for all CAF's in the country. A second boom period began after the Second World War, with the discovery and development of the Spraberry Trend, still ranked as the third-largest oil field in the United States by total reserves. Yet another boom period occurred during the 1970s, with the high oil prices associated with the oil and energy crises of that decade. Today, the Permian Basin produces one fifth of the nation's total petroleum and natural gas output.

Midland's economy still relies heavily on petroleum; however, the city has also diversified to become a regional telecommunications and distribution center. By August 2006, a busy period of crude oil production had caused a significant workforce deficit. According to the Midland Chamber of Commerce, at that time there were almost 2,000 more jobs available in the Permian Basin than there were workers to fill them.

John Howard Griffin wrote a history of Midland, Land of the High Sky (1959).

D. Lance Lunsford wrote The Rainbow's Shadow: True Stories of Baby Jessica's Rescue & the Tragedies That Followed, which was published in 2006.

Tim Kreitz wrote and directed the short documentary film Midland, Texas: Oasis on the Badlands, based on stories from the archives of the Midland County Historical Society and Judge John Hyde, which was released on DVD in 2007.

Avery v. Midland County
In 1967 the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case of Avery v. Midland County. Midland mayor Hank Avery had sued Midland County challenging the electoral-districting scheme in effect for elections to the County Commissioner's Court. The county districts geographically quartered the county, but the city of Midland, in the northwestern quarter, accounted for 97% of the county's population. A judge, elected on an at-large basis, provided a fifth vote, but the result was that the three rural commissioners, representing only three percent of the county's population, held a majority of the votes.

The majority of the U.S. Supreme Court held that the districting inequality violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection clause. The dissenting minority held that this example of the Warren Court's policy of incorporation at the local-government level exceeded the Court's constitutional authority.

Geography
Midland is located at °N, °W (32.005072, −102.099239), in the Permian Basin in the plains of West Texas.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 71.5 square miles (185.2 km²), of which, 71.3 square miles (184.7 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (0.28%) is water.

Climate
Midland features a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh or BSk) with long, hot summers and short, moderate winters. The city is occasionally subject to cold waves during the winter, but typically does not see cold winters. Midland receives approximately 14.8 in of precipitation per year, much of which is delivered in the summer. Highs exceed 90 °F on 101 days per year, and 100 °F on 16 days.

Cityscape


Nicknamed "The Tall City", Midland has long been known for its downtown skyline. Most of downtown Midland’s major office buildings were built during a time of major Permian Basin oil and gas discoveries. The surge in energy prices in the mid-1980s set about a building boom for Downtown Midland. For many years, the 22-story Wilco Building in downtown Midland was the tallest building between Fort Worth and Phoenix. Today, Midland's tallest building is the 24-story Bank of America Building which stands at a height of 332 ft. Four buildings over 500 ft tall were planned in the 1980s, including one designed by world famous architect I.M. Pei. The great Oil Bust of the mid-1980s, however, killed any plans for future skyscrapers. As of today, five of the forty downtown skyscrapers in Midland are completely vacant.



Because of the revival of the energy-driven economy, a move is currently underway to bring mixed-use development to the downtown area. This has resulted in the on-going demolition of several older buildings and the plans for replacement of several more. At the beginning of 2008, the Permian Building and Gihl's Tower were demolished. Today, there are parking lots where the two buildings once stood. On November 8, 2008 the 14-story Midland Savings Building, built in 1959, was imploded. The building once housed Texaco's Midland office, which later moved to the Heritage Building. Crews have since begun the demolition of the Metro and First National Bank buildings, located on the same block. The Summit Building, 300 N. Marienfeld, in mid-2008 became the first building in the Midland area to be depicted on Google Earth in a 3D mode. The GIS Division of the City of Midland has a long-range plan to render more of the downtown area in the new rendering.

Galleries
Midland College is home to the McCormick Gallery, located inside the Allison Fine Arts Building, on the college's main campus. Throughout the year, changing exhibits at the McCormick feature works of MC students and faculty, visiting artists, and juried exhibits from the Arts Assembly of Midland. The McCormick is also home to the Studio 3600 Series, established in 2006 to "spotlight selected art students and provide them the opportunity to exhibit key works that identify the style they have crafted over a period of time."

Performing arts
The Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale (MOSC) has performed in the Permian Basin for over 45 years, and is the region's largest orchestral organization, presenting both Pops and Masterworks concerts throughout the year. Composed of professional musicians from the area as well as Lubbock, San Angelo and other surrounding cities, the MOSC also is home to three resident chamber ensembles, the Lone Star Brass, Permian Basin String Quartet and West Texas Winds. These ensembles are made up of principal musicians in the orchestra, who come to the area from across the United States. The Midland Community Theatre (MCT) has been entertaining the Permian Basin since 1946 with musicals, comedies, dramas, mysteries, children's theatre and melodramas. MCT produces 15 shows each year in three performance spaces - Davis Theatre I (485 seats) and Mabee Theatre II (155 seats), located in the Cole Theatre, and the annual fundraiser Summer Mummers in the historic Yucca Theatre. MCT has an extensive education program, including the Pickwick Players (teen performance troupe), Theatre School programs and OutReach classes. MCT operates with a professional staff of 20 and depends upon the hard work and dedication of hundreds of volunteers in the Permian Basin to produce shows throughout the year. MCT is a member of the American Association of Community Theatre, and hosted the 2006 AACT International Theatrefest.

Twice each year, the Phyllis & Bob Cowan Performing Arts Series at Midland College presents free cultural and artistic performances of "international interest and scope to stimulate and inspire the Midland arts community," and entertain the community at-large. The series was endowed in 1999, and has since brought a diverse selection of entertainers to Midland, including Andre Watts, the Eroica Trio, the Moscow Boys Choir, the Flying Karamazov Brothers, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, 3 Mo' Divas, Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez and the Golden Dragon Acrobats of China.

Tourism
Sitting on the southern edge of the Llano Estacado and located near the center of the Permian Basin oil fields, Midland's economy has long been focused on petroleum exploration and extraction. Providing more information about this industry 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 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.

Midland is also home to The Museum of the Southwest. The Museum features a collection of paintings by various members of the Taos Society of Artists and Karl Bodmer as well as engravings by John J. and John W. Audubon. Located within the same museum complex are the separate Children's Museum and the Marian W. Blakemore Planetarium. The Museum of the Southwest is housed in the Turner Mansion, the historic 1934 home of Fred and Juliette Turner.

Headquartered in Midland is the Commemorative Air Force (CAF). Associated with the CAF is the American Airpower Heritage Museum. The museum, accredited by the American Association of Museums, displays and preserves World War II artifacts and memorabilia, as well as a collection of original WWII nose art panels. As part of the museum tour, visitors can see 14-20 aircraft on display in the CAF hangar. A research library and archives house a significant oral history collection and give the public access to the museum's information resources.

On display at the Midland County Historical Museum are reproductions of the "Midland Man", the skeleton of a Clovis female found near the city in 1953. Analysis of the remains by Dr. Curtis R. McKinney using uranium-thorium analysis showed that the bones are 11,600 ± 800 years old. Presenting his findings at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in 1992, Dr. McKinney said, "[T]he Midland Woman was related to the earliest ancestors of every Indian who lives today, and she is very likely the only representative of those who created the Clovis cultures."

Visiting Lectures
Twice each year, the Davidson Distinguished Lectures Series at Midland College presents free public lectures by "nationally-known speakers whose academic accomplishments, civic leadership, and/or public achievements interest, enrich, and enlighten Midland students and citizens." The series was endowed in 1996, and has since brought a diverse selection of speakers to Midland, including Ken Burns, Richard Leakey, Bill Moyers, Mark Russell, Sandra Day O'Connor, Richard Rodriguez, Shelby Foote, Anna Deavere Smith, John Updike and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Sports
Midland is home to the Midland RockHounds, a Texas League minor league baseball team. It is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The Rockhounds have played their home games in Citibank Ballpark since 2002.

West Texas United Sockers is an American soccer team founded in 2008. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference. The team plays its home games at the Grande Communications Stadium in Midland, Texas.

Midland is home to the West Texas Drillers of the Minor Professional Football League. The Drillers play some of their home games at Grande Communications Stadium and some at Memorial Stadium.

Midland College is a member of the Western Junior College Athletic Conference, and fields teams in baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's golf, softball and volleyball. Midland College has won 20 national championships in sports since 1975, as well as produced 192 All-Americans.

Plans have been made to develop a 35 court tennis facility named the Bush Tennis Center.

Midland is also home to the Midland Mad Dog Rugby Club, which competes in the Texas Rugby Union as a division III team.

Media
Midland is served by 10 local television stations: KMID - an American Broadcasting Company affiliate, KWES-TV - an NBC affiliate, KOSA - a CBS affiliate and a MyNetwork TV affiliate on their digital cable TV station, KPEJ - a Fox affiliate, KPBT - a PBS affiliate, KWWT - The CW Television Network affiliate, KUPB - a Univision affiliate, KTLE-LP - a Telemundo affiliate, and K69IT- a Multimedios Television affiliate. It also has one local religious television station: KMLM- a God's Learning Channel affiliate that is a worldwide institution offering pro-Israel programming. Midland is also served by one local newspaper, the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

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, The Rookie, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure (which featured, as extras, many participants in the actual rescue and its coverage), and others.

In the Heroes television series, the Midland-Odessa area is a focal point for many of the first season's episodes, serving as the home for the Bennet family as well as the location of a recurring restaurant, the Burnt Toast Diner.

Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 111,149 people, 41,268 households, and 32,607 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,558.9 people per square mile (550.6/km²). There were 47,562 housing units at an average density of 667.1 per square mile (231.0/km²). 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 41,268 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.

In 2000, 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 in 2007 was $52,294. In 2000, 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.

Local government


According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $57.3 million in Revenues, $53.0 million in expenditures, $363.4 million in total assets, $133.9 million in total liabilities, and $75.0 million in cash and investments.

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:

State and federal representation
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the headquarters of Parole Division Region V in Midland; the Midland District Parole Office is in the Region V headquarters.

The United States Postal Service operates the Midland Main Post Office on the grounds of Midland International Airport. The other four post offices are Claydesta, Downtown Midland, Graves, and Village.

Economy
According to the City's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top ten employers in the city are:

Colleges and Universities
Midland is the home of Midland College, which offers a variety of over 50 programs of study for associate degrees and certificates, to more than 6,000 students who enroll each semester. MC offers programs in Health Sciences, Information Technology, and Aviation, including a Professional Pilot Training program. Midland College is one of only three community colleges in Texas approved to offer a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Technology. Dr. Steve Thomas is Midland College's current president.

Midland is also the home for the Physician Assistant program offered by the Texas Tech University Health Science Center located on the campus of Midland College. The entry-level graduate program awards a Master of Physician Assistant Studies following 27 months of intensive academic and clinical training.

Kaplan University also provides numerous academic programs including, but not limited to, criminal justice, computer technology, and health care.

Schools
Midland is the home to three local public high schools: Midland High School, Robert E. Lee High School and Early College High School (ECHS) at Midland College, all three of which are part of the Midland Independent School District. College-bound graduates of the first two high schools typically attend state universities - Texas A&M, Texas Tech, the University of Texas, Texas State and Abilene Christian University being some of the most popular. In recent years however, members of the graduating classes of Midland High and Lee have gone on to attend Northwestern, NYU, and Yale University.

There is no such data for the third school, ECHS, at this time. It is a new school, and welcomed its first freshman class on August 24, 2009. The goal for ECHS is that, by the time "the students receive their high school diploma, they will also have an associate’s degree from Midland College."

There are also many private schools in Midland including: Hillcrest School, Hillander, Midland Classical Academy, Midland Christian School, Midland Montessori, St. Ann's School, and Trinity School of Midland, amongst others. Midland is also home to three charter schools; Richard Milburn Academy, Premier High School, and Midland Academy Charter School.

Libraries

 * Midland County Library
 * Haley Memorial Library & History Center
 * Murray L. Fasken Learning Resource Center at Midland College

Transportation
The Midland International Airport serves Midland, nearby Odessa 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 also has city-wide public bus services provided for the Midland-Odessa Urban Transit District by Midland-Odessa Transit Management, otherwise known as E-Z Rider.

Sister cities
Midland has four sister cities located in various countries around the world.


 * Dongying, Shandong, People's Republic of China; located near China's second largest known oil field. A modest pagoda located at the Beal Complex, was donated by Dongying.


 * Wirral (UK)


 * 🇬🇾 New Amsterdam (Guyana)


 * 🇲🇽 Chihuahua, Chih. (Mexico)

Notable residents

 * Ernest Angelo, Mayor of Midland, 1972-1980, Republican national committeeman, 1976-1996
 * Michael Arden, Actor
 * Kathy Baker, Actress
 * Cedric Benson, Running back for the Cincinnati Bengals
 * Raymond Benson, Author of James Bond novels
 * Mookie Blaylock, NBA Basketball Star
 * Barbara Bush, Former First Lady of the United States
 * Barbara Bush, Daughter of Former President George W. Bush
 * George H. W. Bush, Former President of the United States
 * George W. Bush, Former President of the United States
 * Jeb Bush, Former Governor of Florida
 * Jenna Bush, Daughter of Former President George W. Bush
 * Laura Bush, Former First Lady of the United States
 * Frank Kell Cahoon, Midland oilman; the only Republican in the Texas legislature, 1965–1966; former Midland City Council member
 * Jeannette Charles, Actress
 * Mike Conaway, United States Congressman
 * Tom Craddick, District 82 State Representative and former Speaker of the Texas House
 * Leeon D. Davis, Homebuilt Plane Designer and Builder
 * Hal Dean, Professional Football Player
 * Gabriel F. Espinosa, Mathematician, Author, and Grandson of J.D Foster Ingersoll Rand Corp and former owner of Indian Hot Springs, Texas
 * Don Evans, Former Secretary of Commerce
 * Explosions in the Sky, three out of four members of the critically acclaimed indie rock group hail from Midland
 * Deborah Fikes, Executive Advisor/Representative to the United Nations for the World Evangelical Alliance
 * Tommy Franks, Retired General, United States Army
 * Kenn George, former state representative from Dallas County and unsuccessful candidate for Texas land commissioner
 * Doyle Glass, Historian and Sculptor
 * Susan Graham, Mezzo-soprano
 * Steven Dale Green, former Army Pfc., convicted of rape and murder
 * J. Evetts Haley, Historian of the American West; political activist
 * Jim Hall, racecar designer/owner/driver
 * Frederic C. Hamilton, Businessman, philanthropist
 * Woody Harrelson, Actor
 * Jonathan Smith, In the band Days Difference
 * Bobby Hillin, NASCAR driver
 * E.J. Holub, Kansas City Chief football player
 * Tommy Lee Jones, Actor
 * J. Hugh Liedtke, Founder of Pennzoil
 * Bessie Love, Actress
 * Jessica McClure, "Baby Jessica"
 * Wahoo McDaniel, Professional Football Player and wrestler
 * Douglas McGrath, Film writer and director
 * Laynce Nix, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder
 * George H. O'Brien, Jr., Medal of Honor recipient
 * Tony Peyton, Last surviving member of the original Harlem Globetrotters
 * John V. Pliska, designer and builder of the Pliska aircraft, flown in 1912
 * David J. Porter, Republican nominee for the Railroad Commission of Texas, 2010
 * Judy Rankin, LPGA all-time money winner
 * Jackson Rathbone, Actor
 * Doug Russell, 1968 Olympic gold medalist
 * Mike Stanton, Cincinnati Reds pitcher
 * Mike Timlin, Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
 * Rex Tucker, Offensive Guard for the Detroit Lions
 * Ryan Tucker, Offensive Tackle for the Cleveland Browns
 * Randy Velarde, Utility player in Major League Baseball.
 * Joseph Walker, Wide Receiver for the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats
 * Spud Webb, NBA Basketball Star
 * Paul Wecker, American painter
 * Eileen Wilks, Romance and Urban Fantasy author
 * Clayton Williams, Businessman and 1990 gubernatorial candidate
 * Michael L. Williams, Texas Railroad Commission member
 * Leo and Fairfax Windecker, designers of the first composite aircraft to be FAA certified, founders of Windecker Industries
 * Eric Winston, Offensive Tackle for the Houston Texans
 * Larry L. King, Author, co author Best Little Whorehouse in Texas