Midland, Texas, United States

History | Avery v. Midland County | Geography | Cityscape | Economy | Galleries | Performing arts | Libraries | Tourist Industry | Education : Universities | Sport | Media : Press : Radio : Television | Transport : Air | Highways and Roads | Transport : Rail

🇺🇸 Midland is a city in Midland and Martin counties and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States.

The metropolitan area is part of the larger Midland-Odessa combined statistical area. Residents of Midland are referred to as 'Midlandians'.

Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a major centre for oil and natural gas production. Midland was founded as the midway point between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1881. The city has many connections to the Bush family; It was the onetime home of former Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush and the hometown of former First Lady Laura Bush. The George W. Bush Childhood Home 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 has also 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.

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 north-western 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 West Texas plains. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 71.5 square miles (185.2 km²), of which 71.3 square miles (184.7 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.5 km²) (0.28%) is water.

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 332 feet (101 m). Four buildings over 500 feet (150 m) 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 (six floors underground and 53 above). If it had been built, it would have been Texas's sixth-tallest building.

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: 1 Midland Independent School District; 2 Midland Memorial Hospital and Medical Center; 3 Dawson Geophysical; 4 Walmart; 5 City of Midland; 6 Midland College; 7 Baker Hughes; 8 Warren Equipment Companies; 9 Midland County, Texas; 10 H-E-B.

Galleries Midland College 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 (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. 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 (MCT) 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

Tourist Industry Sitting on the southern edge of the Llano Estacado and near the centre 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, 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 longtime Midland resident who pioneered the use of aerodynamic downforce in Formula One car design.

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, "[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".

Education: Universities Midland is the home of Midland College (MC), which offers 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. MC is one of only three community colleges in Texas approved to offer a bachelor's degree in applied technology. Steve Thomas is MC's president.

Midland is home to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Permian Basin Campus's physician assistant program, on the MC campus. The entry-level graduate program awards a Master of Physician Assistant Studies following 27 months of intensive academic and clinical training.

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 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, Bill Nye, John Updike and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Sport Midland is home to the Midland RockHounds, a Texas League minor league baseball team. It is the AA affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The Rockhounds have played their home games in Momentum Bank 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.

Midland is home to the West Texas Drillers (Adult Tackle Football) of the Minor Professional Football League. They were established in 2009. They play their home games at Grande Communications 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: Press Midland is served by the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

Media: Radio • KLFB 88.1 FM (Religious) • KFRI 88.7 FM (Christian Contemporary) • KBMM 89.5 FM (Religious) • KTPR 89.9 FM (Texas Public Radio) • KLVW 90.5 FM (Christian Contemporary) • KVDG 90.9 FM (Spanish) • KXWT 91.3 FM (Public Radio) • WJFM 91.7 FM (Gospel Music) • KNFM 92.3 FM (Country) • KZBT 93.3 FM (Hip-Hop) • KACD 94.1 FM (Spanish) • KTXO 94.7 FM (Country) • KQRX 95.1 FM (Rock) • KMRK-FM 96.1 FM (Country) • KMCM 96.9 FM (Oldies) • KODM 97.9 FM (Adult Contemporary) • KHKX 99.1 FM (Country) • KMTH 99.5 FM (Public Radio) • KBAT 99.9 FM (Rock) • KMMZ 101.3 FM (Regional Mexican) • KFZX 102.1 FM (Classic Rock) • KCRS 103.3 FM (Top-40) • KTXC 104.7 FM (Regional Mexican) • KCHX 106.7 FM (Adult Contemporary) • KWEL 107.1 FM (Talk) • KQLM 107.9 FM (Spanish) • KCRS 550 AM (News/Talk) • KXOI 810 AM (Spanish) • KFLB 920 AM (Religious) • KWEL 1070 AM (Talk) • KLPF 1180 AM (Religious) • KMND 1510 AM (Sports)

Media: Television Midland is served by nine local television stations: KMID, an ABC affiliate; KWES-TV, an NBC affiliate; KOSA, a CBS affiliate and a MyNetworkTV affiliate on their digital cable TV station; KPEJ-TV, a Fox affiliate; KPBT-TV, a PBS affiliate; KWWT, a MeTV affiliate; KUPB, a Univision affiliate; and KTLE-LD, a Telemundo affiliate. It also has a religious television station: KMLM-DT, an affiliate of God's Learning Channel, a worldwide institution offering pro-Israel programming.

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.

The Midland-Odessa area is a focal point for many of the TV series Heroes's first-season episodes, serving as the Bennet family home and as the location of the Burnt Toast Diner.

Transport: Air • Midland is served by Midland International Air and Space Port (ICAO code: KMAF, IATA code: MAF), which is located between Odessa and Midland. • Midland Airpark (ICAO code: KMDD, IATA code: MDD) is a general aviation airport located on Midland's north-east side.

Highways and Roads • I-20 (Interstate 20) • I-20 BL (Wall Street/Front Street/Former US 80) • SH 140 (Florida Street) • SH 158 (Garden City Highway) • SH 191 (Highway 191/Sgt. Mike Naylor Memorial Highway) • SH 349 (Big Spring Street) • Loop 40 • Loop 250 • Loop 268 (Wall Street) • FM 868 (Midland Drive)

Transport: Rail Midland was the site of the 2012 Midland train crash, in which a train collided with a parade float carrying wounded military veterans, killing four.

Midland also has citywide public bus services provided for the Midland-Odessa Urban Transit District by Midland-Odessa Transit Management, otherwise known as E-Z Rider.

Midland, Texas, United States 

Midland was ranked #1225 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Midland has a population of over 132,524 people. Midland also forms the centre of the wider Midland County which has a population of over 169,983 people. It is also a part of the larger Midland-Odessa area. Midland is ranked #409 for startups with a score of 0.525.

To set up a UBI Lab for Midland see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Midland has links with:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Birkenhead, England 🇨🇳 Dongying, China 🇬🇾 New Amsterdam, Guyana 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wallasey, England
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | Nomad | StartupBlink

Antipodal to Midland is: 77.922,-31.997

Locations Near: Midland -102.078,31.9974

🇺🇸 Odessa -102.375,31.85 d: 32.5  

🇺🇸 Lubbock -101.858,33.577 d: 176.9  

🇺🇸 San Angelo -100.45,31.443 d: 165.9  

🇺🇸 Carlsbad -104.233,32.4 d: 207.7  

🇺🇸 Abilene -99.743,32.459 d: 225.6  

🇲🇽 Ciudad Acuña -100.917,29.317 d: 318.1  

🇺🇸 Amarillo -101.84,35.203 d: 357.1  

🇲🇽 Piedras Negras -100.517,28.7 d: 396.1  

🇺🇸 Alamogordo -105.95,32.9 d: 376.9  

🇺🇸 Boerne -98.715,29.794 d: 403.7  

Antipodal to: Midland 77.922,-31.997

🇲🇺 Mahébourg 57.7,-20.407 d: 17627.9  

🇲🇺 Centre de Flacq 57.718,-20.2 d: 17615.5  

🇲🇺 Curepipe 57.517,-20.317 d: 17606.5  

🇲🇺 Vacoas-Phoenix 57.493,-20.3 d: 17603.4  

🇲🇺 Rivière du Rempart 57.633,-20.05 d: 17598.3  

🇲🇺 St Pierre 57.517,-20.217 d: 17599.8  

🇲🇺 Quatre Bornes 57.479,-20.266 d: 17600  

🇲🇺 Moka 57.496,-20.219 d: 17598.3  

🇲🇺 Beau Bassin-Rose Hill 57.471,-20.235 d: 17597.2  

🇲🇺 Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill 57.467,-20.233 d: 17596.8  

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