Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Midland County in West Texas, with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 at the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin, Midland is a major center for American oil and natural gas production.
The Midland metropolitan area includes all of Midland County and had 169,983 residents at the 2020 census. The metropolitan area is part of the larger Midland–Odessa combined statistical area, which had a population of 340,391 in the 2020 census. Residents of Midland are referred to as "Midlanders".
Midland was founded as the midway point between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881. The city has many connections to the Bush family; it was the one-time home of former U.S. presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, and the hometown of former First Lady Laura Bush. The Bush Family Home State Historic Site is located in Midland.
History
Midland was established in June 1881 as Midway Station, on the Texas and Pacific Railway. Its name came from its central location between Fort Worth and El Paso, but because there were already other towns in Texas named 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 state's most important cattle shipping centers. The city was incorporated in 1906, and by 1910 established its first fire department, along with a new water system.
Midland was changed significantly 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. Midland became the West Texas oil fields' administrative center. During World War II, it had the nation's largest bombardier training base. A second boom began after the war, with the discovery and development of the Spraberry Trend, still the country's third-largest oil field by total reserves. Yet another boom period took place during the 1970s, with the high oil prices associated with the oil and energy crises. 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, but the city also became 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.
In 1959, John Howard Griffin wrote a history of Midland, ''Land of the High Sky.''
''Avery v. Midland County''
In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case 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 Midland, in the northwestern quarter, had 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 3% of the county's population, held a majority of the votes.The Court held that the scheme violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. A dissenting minority held that this example of the Warren Court's policy of incorporation at the local-government level exceeded its constitutional authority.
Geography
Midland is in the Permian Basin in the West Texas plains.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 71.5 square miles, of which 71.3 square miles is land and 0.2 square mile is water.
Climate
Midland has a hot semi-arid climate bordering upon a hot arid climate and a cool semi-arid climate with hot to sweltering summers and cool to mild winters. It occasionally has cold waves during the winter, but rarely sees extended periods of below-freezing cold. It also sometimes sees very warm to hot conditions in winter due to chinook winds descending from the mountains.Midland receives approximately of precipitation per year, much of which falls in the summer. Highs exceed on 115 afternoons per year and on 24 afternoons while lows fall to or below on 58 mornings.
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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 sparked a building boom downtown. For many years, the 22-story Wilco Building in downtown was the tallest building between Fort Worth and Phoenix. Today, the tallest is the 24-story Bank of America Building, at. Four buildings over tall were planned in the 1980s, including one designed by architect I.M. Pei.The great oil bust of the mid-1980s killed any plans for future skyscrapers. A private development group was planning to build Energy Tower at City Center, which was proposed to be 870 feet tall, with 59 floors. If it had been built, it would have been Texas's sixth-tallest building.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 132,524 people, 47,682 households, and 32,632 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 47,562 housing units at an average density of. Of the 47,682 households, 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were opposite-sex married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were made up of same-sex relationships, non-family habitations, or other habitation arrangements. About 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 distributed as 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 household income in 2020 was $90,448, with a per capita income of $47,870. 10.5% of the population was below the poverty line.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $39,320, and 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.
In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Midland the second fastest-growing small city in the United States.
Economy
In 2014, Midland had the lowest unemployment rate in the United States, 2.3%. According to the city's latest Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's top ten employers are:| # | Employer | # of employees |
| 1 | Midland Independent School District | 2,919 |
| 2 | Midland Memorial Hospital and Medical Center | 1,670 |
| 3 | Dawson Geophysical | 1,244 |
| 4 | Walmart | 950 |
| 5 | City of Midland | 880 |
| 6 | Midland College | 735 |
| 7 | Baker Hughes | 600 |
| 8 | Warren Equipment Companies | 597 |
| 9 | Midland County, Texas | 541 |
| 10 | H-E-B | 509 |
Arts and culture
Galleries
is home to the McCormick Gallery, inside the Allison Fine Arts Building on the main campus. Throughout the year, exhibits at the McCormick feature works of MC students and faculty, visiting artists, and juried exhibits. The Arts Council of Midland serves as the promotional and public relations vehicle to promote the arts and stimulate community participation and support. 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 and Chorale 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. 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.The Midland Community Theatre originated in 1946 with musicals, comedies, dramas, mysteries, children's theatre and melodramas. MCT produces 15 shows each year in three performance spaces—Davis Theatre I and Mabee Theatre II, in the Cole Theatre, and the annual fundraiser Summer Mummers in the Yucca Theatre. MCT is a member of the American Association of Community Theatre, and hosted the 2006 AACT International Theatrefest.
Twice each year, the Phyllis and Bob Cowan Performing Arts Series at Midland College presents free cultural and artistic performances. The series was endowed in 1999.
Libraries
- Midland County Library
- Haley Memorial Library and History Center
- Murray L. Fasken Learning Resource Center at Midland College
Tourism
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. Within the same museum complex are the Children's Museum and the Marian W. Blakemore Planetarium. The Museum of the Southwest is in the Turner Mansion, the historic 1934 home of Fred and Juliette Turner.
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 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, McKinney said, "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."