Gardendale, Texas

Name: Gardendale, Texas
Address: Gardendale, TX

Everything Gardendale is known for

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Music in Gardendale

Songs About Gardendale

No Man's Land

Miranda Lambert

10%

"She might be ninety miles from Pecos"

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Rivers & Roads in Song near Gardendale

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Gardendale.

Interstate 20 13 songs

History of Gardendale

The Other Chris Kyle Memorial Highway RoadyGoat

State Highway One Ninety One through Ector County carries the name of Chris Kyle, the Navy SEAL sniper who was born in Odessa in nineteen seventy four. On the second of February, two thousand seventeen, four years to the day after Kyle was killed, State Representative Brooks Landgraf filed the bill to put his name on the highway, and it became law that year. It was the second Chris Kyle Memorial Highway in Texas. The first, named in two thousand fifteen, is a stretch of US Highway Two Eighty Seven through Midlothian, the town where he went to high school. The Odessa highway runs past the Chris Kyle Memorial Plaza, which features a statue of him. On a Tuesday morning in May of two thousand eighteen, the new highway signs were unveiled at that plaza, and Kyle's widow, Taya, spoke to the crowd.

RoadyGoat → · 8.5 mi away

Odessa's Man on the Highway Commission RoadyGoat

1985

Loop Three Thirty Eight carries the name Ray C. Stoker Jr. Memorial Highway. Raymon Charles Stoker Jr. was born in Odessa on February nineteenth, nineteen thirty nine. He earned his bachelor's and law degrees at Baylor and began his career as a briefing attorney for the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Then he came home and joined the Shafer Law Firm in Odessa, where he practiced for fifty three years and served as president of the Ector County Bar Association. In nineteen eighty five Governor Mark White put him on the state highway commission, and Governor Ann Richards later made him chair of the newly formed Texas Department of Transportation. He was instrumental in developing the Texas Highway Trunk System, ten thousand five hundred miles of rural highways. He also served on boards for the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, High Sky Children's Ranch and the University of Texas Permian Basin, and he was named Odessa Citizen of the Year for nineteen ninety one. A ferry between Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula carries his name, and so does a highway in Coleman County. Ray Stoker died on August thirty first, twenty eighteen, at seventy nine.

RoadyGoat → · 9.3 mi away

Buddy West, From Amoco to the House Floor RoadyGoat

1992

Where Interstate Twenty meets Highway Three Thirty Eight in Odessa, the overpass is the George E. Buddy West Memorial Overpass. The Legislature asked for the name in two thousand nine. George West, known as Buddy, was born in Ballinger on October ninth, nineteen thirty six, and moved to Odessa at the age of seven. He graduated from Odessa High School. Then came thirty years with Amoco, where he worked as a safety engineer, product technologist, and plant and field technician. He kept going to school along the way, at Odessa College, Howard Payne and Hardin Simmons. In nineteen seventy five he earned a business management degree from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. In nineteen ninety two he was first elected as the District Eighty One state representative, and he spent sixteen years in the Texas House, serving Ector, Andrews and Winkler Counties. He chaired the House Committee on Energy Resources, served as vice chair of Appropriations, and backed the growth of his alma mater, U T Permian Basin. At home he was a Boy Scout leader and a Little League baseball coach. Odessa was the city he called home for more than sixty years. Buddy West died on June twenty fifth, two thousand eight, at the age of seventy one.

RoadyGoat → · 10.7 mi away

Baker Ranch School

1906

Since there were no public schools in rural Ector County, R.W. Smith and Teague Baker in 1906 erected an 8'x10' school building in Baker's pasture. They hired a teacher at $15 a month, plus room and board, which each furnished on alternate months. Ranch schools like this one taught not only children of ranchers, but also those of cowboys and nesters--small farmers coming west to homestead or to by land at nominal prices. Baker community later had a public school. Till the Permian Basin had good roads and buses, ranch schools served it well. (1965)

Historical Marker → · 4.2 mi away

LeGrande Survey of 1833

1833

Made in era of Mexico rule in Texas for John Beales, who through partnerships, acquired 70,000,000 acres of land and gained the title of "Texas" largest land king. Alexander LeGrande's survey covered about 2,000 miles in west Texas, Oklahoma Panhandle and Eastern New Mexico then south to the 32nd parallel. Hardship and tragedy plagued LeGrande's abandoned survey. First exploration here is usually credited to Capt. R. B. Marcy, U.S. Army; LeGrande's work was years earlier.

Historical Marker → · 4.2 mi away

Gardendale

1950

Located in northern Ector County, Gardendale is an area known for horse ranches, oil production and pecan orchards. Prior to 1950, the area was owned by a Sherman physician and called Neathery Ranch. In the late 1950s, Odessa realtor and land developer Fred Gage and his associates purchased 6,500 acres of land for development. The new community quickly became an attractive option for people seeking a rural environment. The Gardendale Community Association, active since 1970, helped secure a community center and a fire department, along with other community enhancements such as park improvements, a horse arena and other recreational spaces. An annual fundraiser continues to fund community projects and organizations. During the 1970s and 1980s, Gardendale became known for its large pecan orchards, boasting almost 80,000 pecan trees. The local pecan processing facility played a significant role in Texas' rank as the second-largest producer of pecans in 1978. In the 1980s, Gardendale was home to several vineyards, including one of the only table grape vineyards in the state. Drought and harsh weather conditions affected both agricultural industries, despite the proximity to a ground water source known as the Midland Draw. Due to drought concerns, the greater Gardendale Water Supply Corp. Formed in 2000 to deliver reliable water to its residents. The area is also home to a 120-acre Odessa College Rodeo and Agricultural Graham Center and the nationally recognized Odessa College Rodeo Team. The citizens of Gardendale continue to honor their agricultural heritage and traditions.

Historical Marker →

Gardendale, TX (La Salle County)

1908

Gardendale, on Interstate Highway 35 five miles north of Cotulla in northwestern La Salle County, was one of several new settlements in the Winter Garden region when irrigation opened new land to farming in the early 1900s. The community was established about 1908 by the Hurst and Brundage Company, a San Antonio land-development firm. Because its 16,000-acre site was at the intersection of the International-Great Northern and the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf railroads it had an advantage over other developments. Most of the new settlers, who bought land at twenty-five to thirty dollars an acre, were from Missouri and Arkansas. Gardendale had a post office in 1909 and in 1914 had a population of twenty-five, a general store, and a gasoline station or auto-parts store. In 1925 the population was seventy-five. In 1931 the local school enrolled fifty students. But many of the early settlers were unable to support themselves on the small plots they had bought, and by the mid-1930s Gardendale had declined. In 1941 it had only one business, although its population supposedly remained at seventy-five. The town had lost its school by the mid-1940s. By 1965 no businesses were reported. In 1975 a historian of the county labeled Gardendale a "ghost town," although fifty-nine people reportedly still lived there. The population was still fifty-nine in 1990.

Tsha Handbook →

Kyle, Christopher Scott

1974

Christopher "Chris" Scott Kyle, U. S. Navy SEAL and the U.S. military's most lethal sniper, son of Wayne Kenneth Kyle and Deby Lynn (Mercer) Kyle, was born in Odessa, Texas, on April 8, 1974. Kyle grew up in rural North Central Texas. His father worked for Southwestern Bell, but the family also maintained a small cattle ranch that Chris worked with his parents and younger brother Jeff. As a small boy, Chris Kyle had a Daisy BB gun, and when he was eight years old, his father bought a 30-06 rifle for Chris to use on their hunts together. Kyle attended high school in Midlothian, and during his time there he played baseball and football and rode horses. After graduating high school in 1992, Kyle, who had been active in the Future Farmers of America, studied agriculture at Tarleton State University. At the same time, he worked as a professional bronco rider until he suffered severe injuries that resulted in a dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, a bruised kidney and lung, and the insertion of pins in his wrists. Kyle retired from bronc riding but became a ranch hand on a ranch in Hood County while he attended college classes. Kyle had often stated that his two possible ambitions focused on either ranching or joining the military. In 1996 he found himself at a shopping-mall military recruiting office. He had originally gone to talk to the army, but when they were not there, a navy recruiter informed him about the Navy SEALs. Kyle signed up but was initially rejected due to the pins in his arm. He subsequently quit school and decided to go back to ranching full-time. However, in the winter of 1997–98 he received a call back from the U. S. Navy and was invited to attend Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in Coronado, California. He officially joined the navy in February 1999. Upon completing the six-month training course, he was eventually assigned to SEAL Team 3 in April 2001. Shortly after completion of BUD/S, Kyle met Taya Studebaker at a local bar in San Diego, California. She worked in San Diego as a pharmaceutical representative. They married in 2002 before his first deployment. They had two children, a boy and a girl. Kyle, who had gone through the SEALs extensive sniper training, served four tours during his enlistment and fought in the war known as Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was deployed for the initial invasion of Baghdad in 2003, to Fallujah in 2004, to Ramadi in 2006, and back to Baghdad in 2008. In the course of his career, he had a record-breaking 160 confirmed kills, although the U. S. Navy has adjusted the number through the years. During his tours, he was also twice shot and survived six improvised explosive device (IED) attacks. His expert marksmanship and courage resulted in a silver star and four bronze stars with valor. Kyle, who achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer, earned a number of military honors, including Marksmanship Medals for Rifle and Pistol Expert, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Promoted to chief instructor, Kyle wrote the first U.S. Navy handbook for snipers. His work not only attracted the attention of the U.S. military but of his enemies as well. During his tours Kyle acquired the nickname “The Devil of Ramadi” and had a bounty of up to $80,000 placed on him by Iraqi insurgents. In 2009 Kyle retired from the Navy SEALs after four deployments and ten years of service. Saying that his departure was one of the hardest decisions he had to make, he chose to prioritize his family and address marital difficulties back at home. Kyle came back home but experienced personal challenges in the transition from war to everyday life. The family settled in Midlothian, Texas, and he started his own tactical training and security business called CRAFT International. His autobiography American Sniper (written with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice was published in 2012 and became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. Kyle made a number of television appear

Tsha Handbook → · 9.2 mi away

Bush, George Herbert Walker

1944

George Herbert Walker Bush, forty-first president of the United States, was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts. He was the second of five children of Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy (Walker) Bush. George Bush was named for his maternal grandfather, George Herbert Walker, and he had two middle names because his parents couldn't decide whether to name him George Herbert Bush or George Walker Bush. Bush grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he attended Greenwich Country Day School. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He played baseball and soccer and was president of his senior class. When the United States entered World War II following the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Bush was eager to enlist in the military. At the age of eighteen and just after graduation, he volunteered to join the United States Navy. He completed his preflight training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in June 1943 was commissioned an ensign and thus became one of the youngest aviators in the U. S. Navy. He was assigned to Torpedo Squadron (VT 51) in the Pacific Theater and carried out missions as pilot of a TBM Avenger torpedo bomber off the aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto . On August 1, 1944, he was promoted to lieutenant junior grade. On September 2, 1944, over the Pacific island of Chichi Jima, Bush's airplane was struck by anti-aircraft gunfire and caught fire. According to Bush's account, he ordered his two crewmates, William "Ted" White and John Delaney, to put on their parachutes and bail out. Bush did the same and landed in the ocean. He kicked off his shoes to reduce his weight and inflated his life jacket. Then he swam to an uninflated life raft, which he inflated and climbed aboard. He was rescued by the submarine USS Finback . Both his crewmates were killed. The episode deeply affected Bush, who said he always wondered why he was spared. He returned to the USS San Jacinto in November 1944 and, in total, flew fifty-eight combat missions. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit Citation (awarded to USS San Jacinto ). Upon his return to the United States, he was assigned to a training wing for new torpedo pilots in Norfolk, Virginia. When Bush returned from the war, he married Barbara Pierce in Rye, New York, on January 6, 1945. The two had met at a Christmas dance in 1941. After his discharge from military service, George Bush went to Yale University, where he played varsity baseball, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, joined the exclusive Skull and Bones society, and earned his degree in economics in 1948. After graduating from Yale, Bush decided not to follow his father into the investment banking business. He wanted to try something different. In 1948 George, Barbara, and their young son George Walker moved to Odessa, Texas, where he began his oil and gas career as a clerk with IDECO (for International Derrick and Equipment Company, a subsidiary of Dresser Industries ), for a $375 per month salary. Bush worked his way up in the business. In 1950 the Bush family moved to Midland and grew to include John Ellis (Jeb) Bush, Neil Mallon Bush, Marvin Pierce Bush, and Dorothy Walker Bush. Another daughter, Pauline Robinson (Robin) Bush, died at the age of three of leukemia in 1953. With partner John Overbey, George H. W. Bush founded an oil exploration company, Bush-Overbey Oil Development, Inc., that later merged with another enterprise to form Zapata Petroleum in 1953 and Zapata Offshore Company in 1954 ( see PENNZOIL ). In 1959 the family moved to Houston, where Bush continued his oil and gas career. He eventually resigned as chief executive officer of Zapata in 1966. Inspired by his father, who by this time was a Republican U.S. senator from Connecticut, Bush wanted to go into politics himself. He began his political career when he was elected Harris County Republican Party chairman. In 1964 he ran for the United States Senate but

Tsha Handbook → · 9.2 mi away

Things to Do in Gardendale

historical 9.9 mi away

Ratliff Stadium

Odessas Permian High School and the football team chronicled in Buzz Bissingers 1990 book Friday Night Lights made this West Texas stadium legendary. Permian…

Everything Near Gardendale

142 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

Gardendale, TX (La Salle County) · Tsha Handbook
Gardendale, on Interstate Highway 35 five miles north of Cotulla in northwestern La Salle County, was one of several new settlements in the Winter Garden region when irrigation opened new land to farming in the early…
Gardendale · 1.9 mi · Historical Marker
Located in northern Ector County, Gardendale is an area known for horse ranches, oil production and pecan orchards. Prior to 1950, the area was owned by a Sherman physician and called Neathery Ranch. In the late 1950s,…
Baker Ranch School · 4.2 mi · Historical Marker
Since there were no public schools in rural Ector County, R.W. Smith and Teague Baker in 1906 erected an 8'x10' school building in Baker's pasture. They hired a teacher at $15 a month, plus room and board, which each…
LeGrande Survey of 1833 · 4.2 mi · Historical Marker
Made in era of Mexico rule in Texas for John Beales, who through partnerships, acquired 70,000,000 acres of land and gained the title of "Texas" largest land king. Alexander LeGrande's survey covered about 2,000 miles…
Midland & Northwestern Railroad · 6.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, and just a little ways out, you might still see the old roadbed of the Midland & Northwestern Railroad. This 66-mile line was built by David Fasken, Sr., to haul cattle and supplies, and…
Emigrant Trail · 7.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Emigrant Trail. Road of stubborn seekers of 1849 California gold fields and better life. Bringing the old, infant, the yet unborn and all worldly goods, family wagons entered Texas at Preston, on Red…
Sergeant Michael Naylor Memorial Highway · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker
State Highway One Ninety One, across Midland County, is the Sergeant Michael Naylor Memorial Highway. Mike Naylor was an Air Force veteran who served fifteen years with the Midland County Sheriff's Office. He was…
Buffalo Wallow, Old · 8.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, and right around here, you're passing by the site of the Old Buffalo Wallow. Imagine millions of buffalo thundering across Texas, migrating between Canada and Mexico. These wallows started…
The Other Chris Kyle Memorial Highway · 8.5 mi
State Highway One Ninety One through Ector County carries the name of Chris Kyle, the Navy SEAL sniper who was born in Odessa in nineteen seventy four. On the second of February, two thousand seventeen, four years to…
Emmet V. Headlee, M.D. · 8.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, a major medical center in West Texas, but back in 1926, it was a town of only 450 people. And it had just one doctor: Emmet V. Headlee. Born in 1900, Dr. Headlee was a fourth-generation…
Permian High School, Odessa (Roy Williams) · 8.8 mi
Permian High School in Odessa, Texas — the 'Friday Night Lights' school — is where safety Roy Williams starred before the University of Oklahoma, where he won the 2000 national championship. A first-round pick of the…
Permian Basin · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through the heart of the Permian Basin, folks! This isn't just any oil field; it's one of the two richest on Earth. Discovery kicked off in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1920</say-as> and…

Show all 142 nearby places

Cable Tool Rig · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, a city built on black gold. Right here, you're passing the site of a revolution in oil drilling: the Cable Tool Rig. Introduced to Texas in <say-as interpret-as="date"…
El Paso Natural Gas Company's First Compressor Transmission Engine · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Odessa, and right here is a true giant of Texas industry. This is the first compressor transmission engine used by the El Paso Natural Gas Company. Fired up on October 1st, 1931, this massive…
Kyle, Christopher Scott · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
Christopher "Chris" Scott Kyle, U. S. Navy SEAL and the U.S. military's most lethal sniper, son of Wayne Kenneth Kyle and Deby Lynn (Mercer) Kyle, was born in Odessa, Texas, on April 8, 1974. Kyle grew up in rural North…
Bush, George Herbert Walker · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
George Herbert Walker Bush, forty-first president of the United States, was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts. He was the second of five children of Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy (Walker) Bush. George…
Ector County · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Ector County, and right here, in what is now this major oil hub, the story of West Texas really took off. Back in 1926, a massive oil strike on the W.E. Connell ranch changed everything. Before…
Velvets, The · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Odessa, Texas, where in 1958, a vocal group called The Velvets was formed. Led by Virgil Johnson, an English teacher, the group got its start after Johnson heard students singing. They quickly…
Wilson, Alfred Mac · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Odessa, Texas, a place that remembers a true hero of the Vietnam War. His name was Alfred Mac Wilson, and he grew up right here. On March 3rd, 1969, during Operation Dewey Canyon, PFC Wilson's…
Odessa, TX · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Odessa, a city that owes its very existence to the discovery of oil. For years, this was just a sleepy cowtown, a water stop for the railroad. But that all changed on December 28, 1926, when the…
Noël, William Douglas · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through West Texas, and right here, you're in the heart of oil country. This is the stomping ground of Bill Noël, an independent oilman who was so busy making his fortune, he claimed he didn't even…
Odessa Land and Townsite Company · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Odessa, a town that owes its existence to a land speculation company from Ohio. Back in 1886, the Odessa Land and Townsite Company advertised this area as a paradise: fertile, cheap land, a…
Rodman, Earl George, Sr. · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through West Texas, the heart of the Permian Basin, and right here in Odessa, you're surrounded by the legacy of Earl George Rodman, Sr. Rodman arrived in McCamey in 1926, drawn by the oil boom. He…
Shuffler, Ralph Henderson · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through West Texas, and right here in Odessa, you're passing through the heart of a story about a newspaperman named Henderson Shuffler. In 1940, he founded the Odessa American, and he quickly became a…
Odessa College · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Odessa, home to a unique cultural landmark: the Globe of the Great Southwest. Right here on the Odessa College campus stands an authentic replica of the original English Shakespearean theater,…
Presidential Museum · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Odessa, and right here is a unique place: the Presidential Museum. It's the only museum in the country dedicated to ALL the presidents, aiming to foster understanding of the office itself. The…
University of Texas of the Permian Basin · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Odessa, and right here is the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. It started in 1969 as an experiment in upper-level education, admitting only junior, senior, and master's students. Imagine,…
White, Charles · 9.2 mi · Tsha Handbook
Charles White, one of the earliest settlers of Odessa, Texas, was born at Woodville, North Carolina, on November 15, 1824, to Caleb and Mary White. His Quaker parents moved to Indiana, and Charles grew to manhood there.…
Odessa's Man on the Highway Commission · 9.3 mi
Loop Three Thirty Eight carries the name Ray C. Stoker Jr. Memorial Highway. Raymon Charles Stoker Jr. was born in Odessa on February nineteenth, nineteen thirty nine. He earned his bachelor's and law degrees at Baylor…
Comanche War Trail · 9.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through West Texas, a land that once echoed with the thunder of hooves. Look to your southeast, about twenty miles away, and picture the Comanche war trail. These weren't just raiders; the Comanches were…
Henderson, Homer Robert · 9.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, a town that owes a lot to men like Homer Robert Henderson. He arrived in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1906</say-as> as part of a Texas Ranger company, tasked with keeping the…
Ratliff Stadium - Permian Panthers · 9.8 mi · Historical Marker
In 1988, a Philadelphia journalist named H.G. Bissinger moved to Odessa to spend a year following the Permian Panthers football team, and what he found was a community that had staked its entire identity on the…
Ector County · 9.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Ector County, the heart of the Permian Basin. This county was carved out of Tom Green County way back on February 26, 1887. It was officially organized just a few years later, in 1891. The whole…
Ratliff Stadium · 9.9 mi · Things to Do
Odessas Permian High School and the football team chronicled in Buzz Bissingers 1990 book Friday Night Lights made this West Texas stadium legendary. Permian…
Midland County · 10.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland County, a place with a history stretching back thousands of years. Long before it was a hub for oil, this was Comanche territory, the site of their last raid into Texas. Then, in <say-as…
Odessa College · 10.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, a town that once had a college that vanished in a mysterious fire! Back in 1888, efforts by the Odessa Townsite Company and a northern Methodist group led to the establishment of a new…
Halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso · 10.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland County, organized way back on March 4th, 1885. It was originally named Midway because it sat exactly halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso. The county seat, Midland, was first named…
Midland County · 10.1 mi · Historical Marker
Created organized March 4, 1885. March 25, 1885 Named for its location which is halfway between Ft. Worth and El Paso County seat, Midland First named Midway
Site of Old Midland Army Flying School · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Midland, and right here is the site of a massive World War II operation. In 1942, Old Sloan Field became the Midland Army Flying School, a huge training ground for bombardier cadets. At its peak,…
W.T. Barrett Stadium · 10.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the old W.T. Barrett Stadium, nicknamed 'W.T.', which was built in 1948 for over 17,000 fans. It was the largest stadium between Abilene and El Paso at the time, hosting football,…
Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Compass Academy (Odessa) · 10.3 mi
Compass Academy (Odessa, TX) placed on the 3A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Jackson Clark (3 HR); Kaison Bivins (0.447 avg).
Ector County's First Dry Hole · 10.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, the heart of West Texas oil country. Back in 1924, geologists were sure this was the spot for oil and vital potash. But Pennsylvania experts, stumped by the local 'Red Bed' rock, abandoned…
Mrs. John L. Morris (Marjorie) · 10.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, and right here is a marker for Marjorie Morris, known to many as Mrs. John L. Morris. She was the driving force behind the Globe of the Great Southwest, a near-perfect replica of…
Staked Plains · 10.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, and right here, folks, is where Texas newspapers got their start in this county! Back in 1885, J.C. Rathbun fired up this old-style press in a simple frame building. Imagine hand-setting…
Sergeant Michael Naylor Memorial Highway · 10.6 mi · Historical Marker
Honors Midland County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Joe Naylor, killed October 9, 2014, while serving a criminal warrant. Honorary segment on SH-191, the Midland-Odessa Permian Basin corridor.
Site of Homestead of William C. Sublett · 10.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Odessa, and you might want to keep an eye out for a legendary lost mine. William C. Sublett, a Confederate veteran, came to West Texas after his wife died in 1874. He took his kids and headed to the…
Buddy West, From Amoco to the House Floor · 10.7 mi
Where Interstate Twenty meets Highway Three Thirty Eight in Odessa, the overpass is the George E. Buddy West Memorial Overpass. The Legislature asked for the name in two thousand nine. George West, known as Buddy, was…
Two Odessa Schoolmates, Two Medals of Honor · 11.0 mi
In Ector County, Business Interstate Twenty carries a double name: the Mac Wilson and Rex Young Medal of Honor Highway. Both men went through the Odessa schools. Both died in Vietnam. Both received the Medal of Honor…
Odessa, Texas · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, a city born from the railroad and booming thanks to oil. Back in 1881, the Texas and Pacific Railway pushed west, and land developers from Ohio saw potential. They brought settlers out on…
Jackrabbit · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Odessa, home of the world's only Jackrabbit Rodeo! Back in May of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1932</say-as>, this speedy desert dweller was the star of a unique event. Known for its…
Ector County Newspapers · 11.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, and right about now, you're passing the site of where Ector County's first newspaper, the Odessa 'Weekly News', hit the presses back in 1895. It only lasted a year, and for a while,…
Earl George Rodman, Sr. and William Douglas Noel · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, where the petrochemical industry really took off thanks to Earl Rodman and William Noel. These two partnered up in 1946 to form the Odessa Natural Gasoline Company. Their success in…
Odessa Petrochemical Complex · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Odessa Petrochemical Complex, which in the 1950s was the largest of its kind in the world. It all started in 1946 with the Odessa Natural Gasoline Company, founded to find profitable…
Odessa Telephone Exchange · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Odessa, where the first telephone exchange got its start around 1897, with Edna Fielding as the lone operator. After her passing in 1902, a local Baptist minister took over, followed by rancher A.…
Ector County Courthouse · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, the county seat of Ector County, a place that's seen its share of courthouse drama. The first courthouse, built in 1891, was a humble frame building that once served as the town's…
Ector County Land Rush · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, and right here in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1904</say-as>, this town was the scene of a wild land rush. Elias Dawson and Charlie Lewis both wanted four sections of public…
Odessa Land & Townsite Company · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, and right here, back in 1886, this whole area was being sold off to hopeful settlers. John Hoge, from Ohio, formed the Odessa Land and Townsite Company after buying 640 acres from the…
Livery Stable & Wagon Yard · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, and right here, you're passing the site of the town's very first livery stable and wagon yard, established way back in 1897 by Francis M. Tallant. Cowmen would stable their horses here…
Odessa Sanitarium, Site of · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Odessa Sanitarium, a bold medical experiment that started in 1886. Directed by Dr. R.E. Haughton, a former railroad doctor, this two-story, twenty-room facility was meant to serve the…
First National Bank of Odessa · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, and right here is the site of the First National Bank, which opened its doors on April 2nd, 1932. It weathered the Great Depression, offering vital services to the community. By 1949, it…
Waddell Pecan Tree · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a very unusual tree in Odessa. It all started a few years after Odessa was founded in 1881, when a squirrel, of all things, stole a pecan and buried it right here. That single nut grew…
The Real Friday Night Lights · 11.5 mi
If you know one thing about Odessa, it’s probably 'Friday Night Lights.' The book, movie, and TV show were all inspired by the 1988 season of the Permian High School Panthers football team. As you drive through town,…
The Odessa Meteor Crater · 11.5 mi
Just a few miles west of the city lies evidence of a visitor from outer space. The Odessa Meteor Crater is a 550-foot-wide depression in the earth, blasted out by an iron meteorite that slammed into the planet an…
Getting the Last Drop: The Engineering of an Old Oilfield · 11.5 mi
The oilfields around Odessa are old. The easy-to-get oil, the stuff that comes out under its own pressure, was pumped out decades ago. So why are there still so many active wells? The answer is a feat of engineering…
Ector, General Matthew D. · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Odessa, and right here is the site of a true Texas military hero. Matthew D. Ector enlisted in 1861 and quickly rose through the ranks, fighting in Arkansas, Missouri, and Indian Territory. He led…
Shakespeare in the Desert · 11.5 mi
Here in the heart of oil country you'll find one of the most unexpected landmarks in Texas: a remarkably faithful replica of William Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, standing on the campus of Odessa College. It started in…
The Presidents' Oilfield Apprenticeship · 11.5 mi
The road to the White House for two American presidents ran right through the oilfields around you. In 1948 a young George H. W. Bush moved his wife and infant son to Odessa and took a clerk's job with IDECO - the…
Dawson Saloon, Site of · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Dawson Saloon, a frontier business run by brothers S.T. and E.F. Dawson. Lish Dawson, who was also Ector County Sheriff in 1891 and '92, even kept a barber chair in the saloon and…
The Hero Hidden In The Name · 11.6 mi
So this town is named for the Black Sea city of Odesa. But here's the twist most people never hear: that famous seaport was itself named for a hero out of ancient Greek legend. When Catherine the Great founded the city…
Odessa, TX · 11.6 mi
Odessa. The name itself echoes across the plains, a little slice of Ukraine planted right here in West Texas. It's a place where the horizon stretches forever, dotted with mesquite and prickly pear, a land carved by…
The Day The Sky Fell On Odessa · 11.6 mi
Just southwest of town, out in Ector County, there's a giant dent in the ground that had nothing to do with any drilling rig. It's the Odessa Meteor Crater, one of the largest meteorite craters in the whole United…
Why This Place Is Called Odessa · 11.6 mi
Here's the honest story behind the name you're driving through. Back around eighteen eighty-one, the Texas and Pacific Railway pushed a line across this flat West Texas country and dropped a little water and cattle stop…
Texas Odessa vs. The Original · 11.6 mi
Since this town was genuinely named for the Black Sea Odesa, let's have a little fun comparing the two. The original sits right on the water in southern Ukraine, and its most famous feature is a giant outdoor staircase…
The Basin That Powered A Nation · 11.6 mi
The far-off Odesa on the Black Sea made its fortune shipping grain out to the world. This Odessa made its fortune on something buried underneath it. You're sitting on top of the Permian Basin, one of the richest oil…
Friday Nights Under The Lights · 11.6 mi
Odessa didn't just give the world an oil boom. It gave the world a story about high school football that became famous everywhere. Back in nineteen eighty-eight, a writer named Buzz Bissinger moved to town and spent a…
Was It Really Just The Grass? · 11.6 mi
You'll hear it said around here that Odessa got its name because the land looks exactly like the Russian steppe. Let's separate the pretty story from the geography. The kernel is true and it's documented: railroad men…
Captain Randolph B. Marcy's Southern Route Expedition · 11.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through West Texas, following a route forged by Captain Randolph B. Marcy in 1849. Prompted by the California Gold Rush, Marcy was tasked with mapping a safer wagon road for the 'Forty-Niners.' He opened…
Prairie Dog · 11.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past where Odessa's Rotary Club established a prairie dog colony in 1959. These critters, actually squirrels that bark, were a vital food source for settlers, especially during droughts. But watch out!…
Site of Blackshear High School · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Blackshear High School, a crucial part of Odessa's history. Back in 1932, the first school for African American students here was just a single room with eight students and one teacher,…
White-Pool/House · 11.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the White-Pool House, a place that's seen two major families shape Odessa's early days. Charles White built this two-story brick home in 1887, modeling it after his Indiana house, right here on his…
St. Joseph Catholic Church · 12.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past St. Joseph Catholic Church. St. Joseph Catholic Church began in 1948 as a mission of St. Mary’s Church to provide for the needs of the Hispanic community of Odessa. The Catholic presence in…
Well's Point · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Odessa, and right here, you're passing Well's Point. It’s not just a name, it’s where thirsty railroad workers found water back in 1881. As the Texas & Pacific Railroad pushed west, they dug…
Midland (Robert E. Lee / Legacy) High School (Cedric Benson) · 13.5 mi
The Midland, Texas high school then known as Robert E. Lee (now Legacy High School) is where Cedric Benson rushed for 8,423 yards and led three straight state championships from 1998 to 2000. He won the Doak Walker…
A Star in the Window, a Marker by the Road · 14.0 mi
This road carries a Blue Star Memorial Highway designation, one of a string of them across Texas. The name comes from a family tradition. When someone in a household was serving in the armed forces, the family displayed…
Midland County · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Midland County, the heart of the Permian Basin. But long before oil derricks dotted this landscape, this land was a prehistoric hunting ground. In 1953, right here on the Scharbauer Ranch,…
Lowe, Ralph Frank · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through West Texas, and right here in Midland, you're passing through the heart of the Permian Basin's oil boom. This town owes much of its growth to men like Ralph Frank Lowe. He arrived around 1928,…
Halff, Henry Mayer · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through West Texas right now, maybe near Midland or Upton County. Back in the early 1900s, Henry Halff wasn't just running cattle on his vast ranches. He was breeding some of the finest horses in the…
Mabie, Victoria Louise Massey · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Midland, Texas, the birthplace of Louise Massey, a true pioneer of country music. Born in 1902, she was dubbed the 'original rhinestone cowgirl' for her dazzling stage costumes and elegant style.…
Midland Army Air Field · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving between Midland and Odessa, right here on US Highway 80, where you might have noticed the airport. This was once Midland Army Air Field, known as the "Bombardier College" during World War II. From 1941 to…
Midland, TX · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Midland right now, a city that owes its very existence to a railroad and a bit of naming confusion. Back in 1881, the Texas and Pacific Railway built Midway Station here, a halfway point between…
Terminal, TX · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what used to be Terminal, Texas, a community born from the sky. It all started in 1927 when oilman Samuel Sloan built a private landing strip on leased grassland. He wanted a place to land his own…
West Odessa, TX · 14.4 mi
The racial makeup of West Odessa is diverse, with 71.64% White, 0.74% African American, 1.08% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 23.88% from other races, and 2.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or…
Abell-Hanger Foundation · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Midland, the heart of West Texas oil country. Right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1954</say-as>, George and Gladys Abell established a foundation that would go on to give away…
Midland Christian College · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Midland, a town that got its start, in part, because of a college that aimed to serve ranch families from all over West Texas. Back in 1908, leaders at Texas Christian University wanted a junior…
Museum of the Southwest · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Midland, Texas, and right here at 1705 West Missouri Avenue stands the Museum of the Southwest. It all started in 1965 with a movement by the Junior League of Midland, wanting a place to celebrate…
Scharbauer, Clarence · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Midland, Texas, a town with a story that starts way back in 1889 when the Scharbauer family arrived from New York. Young Clarence Scharbauer, just a kid at the time, quickly got into the family…
Cowden, William Henry · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through West Texas, maybe near Midland, and you're passing through country that William Henry Cowden helped shape. Born in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1853</say-as>, Cowden started his own…
Midland and Northwestern Railway · 14.4 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through West Texas, and right here, the Midland and Northwestern Railway once tried to connect Midland with points northwest, all the way to Seminole. Chartered in 1916, this ambitious line was built to…
West Odessa, TX · 14.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving past West Odessa, a community that truly boomed and busted with the oil industry. <break time="400ms"/> Settled primarily between 1979 and 1982, during the last major oil boom, this wedge-shaped area grew…
Meteor Crater At Odessa · 14.8 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Ector County, not far from Odessa, and right near this highway is one of the largest meteor craters in the United States. It’s actually three craters, formed ages ago when thousands of iron…
Penwell, TX · 14.8 mi · Tsha Handbook
Penwell, sixteen miles southwest of Odessa in southwestern Ector County, was named for J. H. Penn, a veteran West Texas oil operator, who drilled the discovery well of the Penwell-Jordan oilfield. When Penn's well, the…
Goldsmith: It's a Last Name, Not a Trade · 15.1 mi
Out in the Permian Basin sits a little town called Goldsmith, and the name conjures gold, or the old craft of working precious metal. It's neither. When folks petitioned for a post office in nineteen thirty-six, they…
Dorsey Home · 15.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Dorsey Home in Midland, built by Z. Taylor Brown. Notice the ornate trim and the beautiful art glass window. Inside, you'd find two fireplaces with classic oak mantels.
First Baptist Church of Midland · 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Midland's First Baptist Church. Organized in 1886 with Reverend S.B. Callaway serving three congregations, it erected its first building shortly after. The church grew with the city,…
Goldsmith · 15.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Goldsmith, Texas, a town that exploded onto the map thanks to oil. On June 14, 1935, the discovery well here started flowing 1140 barrels of crude oil a day! Within a month, this boomtown was already…
Midland Christian College · 15.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, and just a couple of blocks west was the site of Midland Christian College. This two-year, co-educational school operated from 1910 to 1921. Imagine students riding a horse-drawn bus to…
George Bush Family Home · 15.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, a city that played a pivotal role in the early lives of two U.S. Presidents. In 1948, George H.W. Bush, future 41st President, arrived here with his wife Barbara and young son George W.…
George W. Bush Childhood Home · 15.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past George W. Bush Childhood Home. George Herbert Walker Bush and wife Barbara (Pierce) came to Texas in 1948, moving to Midland with son George Walker Bush in 1950. They bought this home in 1951 and…
Bush Family Home State Historic Site · 15.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wondered where two U.S. Presidents got their start? You're driving right by it! This unassuming house in Midland, Texas, was home to both George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush, during their formative years.…
First Christian Church of Midland · 15.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the First Christian Church of Midland. Chartered in 1890, sixteen members met in homes until they built their first downtown church in 1892, funded in part by charter member S. E.…
W. B. Anglin · 16.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through West Texas, a land that once saw fierce clashes between settlers and Comanche. Look to your right, near where you're driving, is the spot where Texas Ranger W.B. Anglin fell. On July 1, 1879, he…
From Waste Gas to Car Tires · 16.1 mi
As you look around the oilfields here, you are seeing a chemical operation as much as a drilling one. One of the more interesting pieces of engineering in Goldsmith's history was not pulling oil out of the ground, it…
The Boomtown Frenzy of the 1930s · 16.1 mi
Imagine this spot in the early 1930s: nothing but scrub brush and ranch land belonging to a man named C. A. Goldsmith. Now picture it a few years later. The Permian Basin has cracked open underneath it, and the…
Fairview Cemetery · 16.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, and right here is Fairview Cemetery. It was in use by May of 1885, and that same year, the southeast corner of this land was officially accepted by the county commissioners. Among the…
An Ancient Sea Under West Texas · 16.3 mi
This dusty, sun-baked stretch of West Texas has a secret. It used to be underwater. The Permian Basin is named for the Permian period, roughly 250 to 300 million years ago, when shallow seas repeatedly flooded this…
The Drill That Turns a Corner · 16.3 mi
For a century, drilling for oil meant one thing: go straight down. But the oil out here often sits in a layer of rock that's incredibly wide but very thin, like a sheet of paper buried deep underground. Drill straight…
Oil Isn't Dinosaurs · 16.3 mi
Let's bust a myth right now. Oil is not made of dinosaurs. That picture of a T. rex getting squished into a puddle of gasoline is pure cartoon. The real story is smaller and stranger. Oil comes from countless…
Cracking Rock and Listening to the Earth · 16.3 mi
Two clever technologies make the modern Permian work, and both feel a little like magic. The first is hydraulic fracturing, fracking for short. Engineers pump water, sand, and a little chemical down the well at enormous…
Midland National Bank · 16.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, the heart of West Texas oil country. Right here stands the Midland National Bank, a financial institution that's seen the region's fortunes rise and fall. Organized in Odessa in 1902, it…
Permian Basin Oil Fields · 16.5 mi · Historical Marker
Beneath the flat, dry scrubland between Midland and Odessa lies an ocean of oil trapped in rocks that formed when this part of Texas was an actual ocean. The Permian Basin is named for the Permian geological period, 250…
Permian Basin Discovery Center · 16.5 mi · Historical Marker
Beneath the flat, dry land around Midland and Odessa lies one of the largest petroleum deposits on earth. The Permian Basin gets its name from the geological period that created it: 250 million years ago, this was a…
Midland, TX · 16.5 mi
Midland has always been tied to the boom-and-bust cycle of the oil industry, but the last few years have felt different, more… intentional. The Permian Basin’s been producing oil for a century, and you can feel that…
Midland Man · 16.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland County, where the oldest human remains ever found in the New World were discovered! Back in 1953, a pipeline welder found fossilized bones of a woman who lived between 9,000 and 9,500…
The Petroleum Building · 16.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Petroleum Building, a testament to early oil dreams in Midland. Montana oilman T.S. Hogan built this in 1929, convinced Midland would be the oil capital. The Great Depression and falling oil…
The Yucca Theatre · 16.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, and right here stands the Yucca Theatre. Built in 1927 by oilman T.S. Hogan, this place was designed by two different architects to be a multi-purpose venue. It opened in 1929 with a…
Midland's First House · 16.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, and right here stands the city's very first house, built in 1908. It's a classic Western Ranch style home, constructed from concrete blocks. This was the home of Raymond and Edith…
Former Site of Midland National Bank · 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former site of the Midland National Bank. Organized in Odessa in 1902 as Odessa National Bank, it moved to Midland just a year later. Initially operating out of the Llano Hotel on this spot, the…
Site of Midland County's First Bank · 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Midland County's first bank, the First National Bank of Midland. Organized on June 16, 1890, its first officers were A. W. Hilliard, W. H. Cowden, and W. E. Connell. This bank weathered…
John Valentine Pliska · 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, home of John Valentine Pliska, a mechanical genius and blacksmith. Born in Austria, he followed his trade here after 1903. In 1912, Pliska built and flew the first locally-owned aircraft…
First Post Office in Midland · 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Midland, the town that got its name because it was halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso. When settlers tried to name it Midway, they found that name was already taken. The first post office,…
W. F. Scarborough Home · 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the W. F. Scarborough Home, built in 1908. It's a classic example of the ranch-style architecture favored by west Texas cattlemen. The home was later enlarged, and it's a Recorded Texas Historic…
Brown-Dorsey House · 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Z. Taylor and Sara Brown House, built in 1899. This home, believed to be Midland's oldest dwelling, features unique carved wood details, an art glass window, and a fascinating chimney system. The…
Site of Early Water Well · 17.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Midland's very first water well, dug by hand back in 1884. This six-foot-wide, fifty-foot-deep well, complete with a hand pump, supplied the entire town and even watered the cattle…
The Rescue of Baby Jessica · 17.5 mi
In October 1987, the world's attention was fixed on a small backyard in Midland. An 18-month-old girl named Jessica McClure, playing at her aunt's house, fell down an abandoned, 8-inch-wide water well. She was trapped…
The Tech That Ignited the Boom · 17.5 mi
The recent transformation of Midland is a story of incredible engineering. For decades, oil companies knew vast amounts of petroleum were trapped in tight shale rock formations deep beneath this region. The problem was,…
The 'Tall City' Skyline · 17.5 mi
Take a look at Midland's downtown skyline. For a city of about 130,000 people, it's unusually tall, dominated by glass and steel towers that seem to belong in a much larger metropolis. That skyline earned Midland the…
A President's Childhood Home · 17.5 mi
As you pass through Midland's residential streets, you can find a modest house at 1412 West Ohio Avenue that holds a unique place in American history. The Bush family lived here from November 1951 to November 1955, and…
The Midland Man · 17.5 mi
Southwest of Midland, on the Scharbauer Ranch in 1953, a pipeline welder and amateur collector named Keith Glasscock spotted fragments of a human skull and other bones weathering out of a sand dune. The remains got…
Officer Nathan Heidelberg Memorial Highway · 18.2 mi · Historical Marker
Honors Midland PD Officer Nathan 'Hayden' Heidelberg, first MPD line-of-duty death in over 50 years, killed March 5, 2019, while responding to a false-alarm call. Honorary segment on FM-307 between I-20 and FM-1379.
The West Texas Highway Aimed at the Pacific · 18.4 mi
La Entrada al Pacifico is the name Texas gave in nineteen ninety seven to a chain of West Texas highways: State Highway Three Forty Nine out of Lamesa, a stretch of Interstate Twenty, U S Three Eighty Five from Odessa…
Odessa Meteor Crater · 19.0 mi · Historical Marker
About 50,000 years ago, a nickel-iron meteorite roughly the size of a car slammed into the Permian Basin at roughly 30,000 miles per hour. The impact left a crater 550 feet across, making it the second largest verified…
Odessa Meteor Craters · 19.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through West Texas, and right around here, you're passing over a cosmic collision site! About 20,000 years ago, a massive shower of nickel-iron meteorites rained down on Earth, creating the Odessa Meteor…

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