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Midland, Texas, located in the Permian Basin, is a city with a notable musical presence. While known as a major center for American oil and natural gas production, its musical landscape includes artists like country singer Braxton Keith and indie artist Tim Foljahn.
Our collection features 30 songs that mention Midland, with 27 artists calling it home. Songs like "Midland After Midnight" by Flatland Cavalry and "Fair To Midland" by Dwight Yoakam highlight the city in their titles.
Showing top 20 of 35 songs · Hear more in the free iPhone app
Showing top 20 of 22 artists · Hear more in the free iPhone app
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Midland.
Midland is a major center for American oil and natural gas production, located in the Permian Basin. The discovery of oil in the Permian Basin in 1923, with the Santa Rita No. 1 well and the Yates Oil Field, transformed Midland into the administrative center of the West Texas oil fields. Today, the Permian Basin produces one fifth of the nation's total petroleum and natural gas output, making Midland's economy heavily reliant on petroleum.
Founded in 1881 as the midway point between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railway, the city was initially named Midway Station. Due to other towns in Texas already bearing the name Midway, it was renamed Midland in January 1884. Midland became the county seat of Midland County in March 1885, and by 1890, it had become one of the state's most important cattle shipping centers. The city was incorporated in 1906 and established its first fire department along with a new water system by 1910. The discovery of oil in the Permian Basin in 1923 significantly changed Midland, turning it into the West Texas oil fields' administrative center.
During World War II, Midland had the nation's largest bombardier training base, significantly contributing to the war effort. Additionally, in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case Avery v. Midland County, which resulted in a ruling that the county's electoral-districting scheme violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
The Permian Basin of West Texas is one of the most prolific oil-producing regions in world history, named for the 250-million-year-old Permian geological period rocks that contain its reserves.
Oldest human remains in new world. Found 1953 on ranch near here by pipeline welder Keith Glasscock. Fossilized skull, rib and hand bones had been exposed by weather conditions. Tests indicated these were bones of a woman who lived as long ago as 9000-9500 B. C.; nearby were bones of extinct species of horse, camel, mammoth, peccary, wolf, sloth; with weapons, tools and signs of ancient campfires. Drs. Fred Wendorf and Alex D. Kreiger, archaeologists; Claude C. Albritton, geologist; T. D. Stewart, physician and anthropologist, made studies of the discovery.
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 while here faced the loss of daughter Robin and celebrated the birth of two sons. The years spent here were vital for young George, who attended Sam Houston Elementary, made lifelong friends and played baseball. The family moved to a larger home in 1955 and then to Houston. This c. 1939 Traditional style house reflects transition from Tudor to Ranch detailing. Unique in history, it was home to two Presidents -- George H.W. and George W. Bush; two Governors -- George W. Bush (TX) and Jeb Bush (FL); and First Lady Barbara Bush. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2004
Midland County is on the southern edge of the High Plains in West Texas, bounded on the east by Glasscock County, on the south by Upton County, on the West by Ector County, and on the north by Martin and Andrews counties. The center of the county lies at approximately 31°52' north latitude and 102°00' west longitude, 120 miles south of Lubbock. The county was named for its location halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railway. Midland County extends across 939 square miles of flat land broken by draws and covered by scattered mesquite ; sandy red and dark loam soils predominate, and elevations range from 2,550 to 2,900 feet above sea level. There are no rivers or any other permanent surface waters in the county. Annual rainfall is only 13.51 inches. Temperatures range from an average minimum of 31° F in January to an average maximum of 95° F in July; the growing season lasts 218 days. In the 1980s the agricultural sector of county's economy averaged $11 million in annual income from beef cattle, hogs, sheep, cotton, sorghums, and small grains. Over 13,600 acres are irrigated. The city of Midland is the county's seat of government and the bustling administrative center of the huge Permian Basin petroleum fields. Over $1 billion was paid in wages to the county's 54,207 workers in 1980. About $53,800,000 in goods were manufactured in Midland County in 1982, including clothing, oilfield equipment, plastics, electronic calculators, and watches. County wells produced 7,616,000 barrels of oil, valued at over $225 million, that year. Interstate Highway 20 cuts the northeast corner of the county, coursing southwesterly, and State Highway 349 bisects it north to south. The Missouri Pacific Railroad crosses the northwest corner of the county, connecting the city of Midland with Odessa, Abilene, and other points to the northeast and southwest. In 1953 archaeologists discovered the fossilized remains of "Midland Minnie" on the Scharbauer Ranch in the county. Though "Minnie's" age could not be conclusively established, the remains were tentatively determined to belong to the Folsom culture of the late Pleistocene age, when the area had a cool, humid climate. Fossil evidence of extinct species of horse, antelope, peccary, wolf, mammoth, and sloth were also found at the site. Long before settlers entered what is now Midland County, the region was crossed by a number of early transportation routes. The Comanches used the Great Comanche War Trail, which ran through the area from Indian territory to the south. In 1839 Mexican travelers blazed the Chihuahua Trail, which ran northwesterly from the site of Big Spring to Castle Gap and Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River. Another trail was the Emigrant Road, which led to the site of Preston on the Red River. Wagon roads also crossed through the area. One led from the head of the North Concho to the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos; another, also beginning at the head of the North Concho, ran to Five Wells and Laguna Cuates. There were also two wagon roads that led from Five Wells to Monument Spring in New Mexico. After 1850 these two roads were familiar to various surveying parties charged with marking out the Texas-United States boundary lines. In the 1870s buffalo hunters decimated the great herds occupying the region, forcing Indian migration and setting the stage for a new era of land use. The last recorded incident of White-Indian strife in what is now Midland County occurred in 1879. Twenty-five Comanches led by Chief Black Horse were given permission to leave their reservation to hunt buffalo. After the Indians resorted to eating horses from local ranches when no buffalo could be found, they were attacked by Texas Rangers , who surprised them while they were eating one of the stolen horses. Ranching began in the area after Herman Garrett shipped sheep from California to El Paso on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Garrett drove 300 sheep across the
Ralph Frank Lowe, independent West Texas oil producer and operator, rancher, and sportsman, was born on July 31, 1902, in Ewing (some sources say Durham) in Lewis County, Missouri, to Frank Jerome Lowe, a farmer, and Georgia (Kerrick) Lowe. He was the oldest of four children and grew up in Lewis County. The 1920 census recorded him as a student at a military academy. He attended Westminster College at Fulton, Missouri, and worked briefly for a hotel in Casper, Wyoming, before joining Oil Well Supply and learning the oil business in Kansas and Oklahoma. About 1928 Lowe moved to West Texas during the first Permian Basin oil boom, where he worked as a machinist for Iverson Tool Company and Shell Oil before he became a shop foreman and successfully operated a service station in Wink, Texas, where he was listed on the 1930 census. In 1932 he moved to Midland, where he operated another service station, Lowe's Service Station, a Texas Company ( Texaco ) consignment company on the corner of Wall and Colorado streets. He soon expanded his service station to include being a Goodyear dealer and became involved in local philanthropy as a member of the Lions Club. He was involved in various city promotions. This included his bet to encourage business when local Troop 54 of the Boy Scouts brought "Iron Man," promoted as the "World's Famous Dare-Devil & Strong Man," to Midland. Lowe wagered that the strongman, with a rope tied around his stomach, could not pull a truck load of "Fire Chief Gas and Texaco Motor Oil" up Main Street. In the late 1930s Ralph Lowe, through relationships he established while working at his Texaco station, levied his filling station on a new venture in oil exploration . In June 1940 Lowe contracted to drill his first well on the Seth Campbell lease in Winkler County. His first attempt at drilling was the discovery of a 650-barrel-a-day well, yielding $1,800 every twenty-four hours. Named the No. 1 Seth Campbell, the successful strike led to the founding of Lowe Drilling Company and Lowe Petroleum Company. A year later, he bought his cable tool rig, and by 1943 his continued successful drilling resulted in his sale of twenty-five wells on 1,354 acres in the Weiner and Keystone pools along the Colby Sand Trend in Winkler County for $1 million. Lowe created Maralo, LLC, and the company established an active role in all facets of the oil and gas industry . From 1943 through 1962 Lowe developed properties in fields such as the Fullerton Field, Welch Field in Dawson County, Deep Rock area in Andrews County, as well as fields in Lea County and Eddy County, New Mexico. He had extensive oil operations in the Permian Basin. His wealth enabled him to extend his activities into other areas of business and philanthropy. In 1946 Midland businessmen partnered to build the eight-story Midland Building, and their investment company, Midland Building Company, purchased the filling station site at the corner of Wall and Colorado streets from Ralph Lowe for $50,000. Lowe was also a director for the operating company. In 1947 he donated $16,000 to the Midland Memorial Hospital building fund. Midland Memorial Hospital became the most modern and best-equipped hospital in that section of West Texas. In 1948 the Texas Company, Humble Oil & Refining Company ( see EXXON COMPANY, U.S.A. ), and Ralph Lowe drilled the S.E. Jenkins, a 12,000-foot wildcat well in southwest Gaines County to explore the Ellenburger formation; other wildcat wells followed in the Deep Rock and Fullerton fields in Andrews County. In 1950 his Ralph Lowe No. 1 J. E. Hill, a central Midland County wildcat well located five miles southwest of Midland, was a discovery from the Dean sand of the Permian at a total depth of 9,440 feet in the Wolfcamp lime. Lowe continued to be deeply involved in the Fullerton drilling and found extensions of the Denton and Gladiola fields in Lea County, New Mexico. He was part of the Andrews County developments of the 1950s and also had signif
Henry Mayer Halff, rancher and farmer, the son of Rachel (Hart) and Mayer Halff , was born in San Antonio, Texas, on August 17, 1874. He attended Staunton Military Academy, Virginia, and Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York. He married Rosa Wechsler on January 1, 1905, and they became the parents of two sons and two daughters. Soon after their marriage they moved to Midland, where Halff engaged in the operation of ninety sections of rough semiarid land on which he ran cattle bearing the brands Circle Dot, Quien Sabe ( see QUIEN SABE RANCH ), and JM. The range lay east of the Pecos River in Crane, Crockett, Midland, and Upton counties. Halff moved the headquarters for his cattle business to the old George W. Elliott rock house in Upton County. He advocated improvement in cattle breeding, and on the Quien Sabe Ranch alone he had 3,000 top Herefords. Bulls from this herd were widely sought and sold throughout the Southwest. Halff also imported Belgian stallions to improve his draft horses and bought thoroughbred stallions from racing stables to breed with local mares, producing wiry horses used as polo ponies. His polo teams competed at Fort Bliss, Texas, at Aiken, South Carolina, at Newport, Rhode Island, and at Dedham, Massachusetts, where he won an international championship. The ponies were trained on the H. M. Halff Polo Farm in Midland and shipped from there to other parts of the United States, Canada, and England. A pioneer in irrigation on the plains, Halff drilled his first irrigation well on his Cloverdale Farm, five miles southeast of Midland. The wells drilled there became a source of Midland's water supply and yielded sufficient water to enable him to produce an excellent quality of grapes, melons, grain, and cotton. As early as 1908 water was hauled by ox team from his farm to use in drilling wells at East Upland, a part of his ranch in Upton County. Because of poor health, Halff moved to Mineral Wells in 1923. He died in Richardson on March 20, 1934, and was buried in Emanu-El Cemetery in Dallas.
Odessas Permian High School and the football team chronicled in Buzz Bissingers 1990 book Friday Night Lights made this West Texas stadium legendary. Permian…
Featured on The Daytripper — a full-episode local travel guide.
152 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
Midland is a major center for American oil and natural gas production, located in the Permian Basin. The discovery of oil in the Permian Basin in 1923, with the Santa Rita No. 1 well and the Yates Oil Field, transformed…
The Permian Basin of West Texas is one of the most prolific oil-producing regions in world history, named for the 250-million-year-old Permian geological period rocks that contain its reserves.
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…
Oldest human remains in new world. Found 1953 on ranch near here by pipeline welder Keith Glasscock. Fossilized skull, rib and hand bones had been exposed by weather conditions. Tests indicated these were bones of a…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 while here faced the loss of daughter Robin and…
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.…
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.…
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…
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.…
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 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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
Midland County is on the southern edge of the High Plains in West Texas, bounded on the east by Glasscock County, on the south by Upton County, on the West by Ector County, and on the north by Martin and Andrews…
Ralph Frank Lowe, independent West Texas oil producer and operator, rancher, and sportsman, was born on July 31, 1902, in Ewing (some sources say Durham) in Lewis County, Missouri, to Frank Jerome Lowe, a farmer, and…
Henry Mayer Halff, rancher and farmer, the son of Rachel (Hart) and Mayer Halff , was born in San Antonio, Texas, on August 17, 1874. He attended Staunton Military Academy, Virginia, and Eastman Business College,…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
You're driving through Midland, a place that started as a crossroads and saw one of the last Comanche raids in Texas. The Texas and Pacific Railroad rolled through in 1881, and right here, equidistant between El Paso…
You're driving through West Texas, following a path first plotted in 1849 by Captain Randolph Marcy. Guided by a Comanche Indian named Manuel, Marcy proved the Staked Plains were passable, opening a new, shorter route…
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.
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…
Farm to Market Road Three Oh Seven east of Midland, from Interstate Twenty out through Greenwood, is named for Midland police officer Nathan Hayden Heidelberg. Midland County commissioners designated it in two thousand…
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,…
You're driving through Midland, a city whose economy was transformed by oil. While the Permian Basin saw drilling in the 1920s, Midland County itself didn't hit its stride until the 1940s. Look for the spot where Humble…
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…
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…
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
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…
You're driving through Midland, heading past the site of the Greenwood Baptist Church. It was organized in 1907, named for two missionaries, and services were held in various schools until this structure was built in…
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…
The World War Two Veterans Memorial Highway is a name with an odd history. On August first, nineteen forty four, a Texas highway minute order named U S Highway Eighty the Veterans of World War Two Highway, all the way…
You're driving through Martin County, Texas, and right here is Mustang Spring. As early as 1849, Captain Randolph B. Marcy of the U.S. Army stopped here on his journey from Arkansas to El Paso. By 1859, it was known as…
You're driving through what was once the vast Quien Sabe Ranch, a sprawling operation that covered hundreds of sections across Midland, Upton, and Glasscock counties. The name itself, 'Quién sabe?' in Spanish, means…
Germania is on the Texas and Pacific Railway and Interstate 20 eight miles northeast of Midland in northeastern Midland County. It was established as a land promotion by the Texas and Pacific after the state of Texas…
State Highway Three Forty Nine runs through Midland, and its reliever route carries the name Nadine and Tom Craddick Highway. On December tenth, two thousand nine, the Texas Department of Transportation's Odessa office…
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…
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…
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…
You're driving through Gardendale, an area that transformed from the Neathery Ranch in the 1950s into a community developed by Fred Gage. It quickly became known for its rural appeal, and later, for its massive pecan…
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…
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…
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…
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…
You're driving through La Salle County, and right here, about five miles north of Cotulla, is the story of Gardendale. Established around 1908 by a land company, this settlement was built on the promise of irrigation…
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…
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).
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…
You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through the story of Chris Kyle, the U.S. Navy SEAL known as the most lethal sniper in American history. Born in Odessa in 1974, Kyle grew up with a love for…
You're driving past Odessa, Texas, a place that played a small but significant role in the early life of George H.W. Bush. While he'd later become president, Bush started his oil and gas career right here in 1948,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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,…
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.…
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…
You're driving through West Texas, passing through Martin County. It was formed from older territories back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1876</say-as>, and officially organized in <say-as…
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…
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…
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…
The most unique story in Stanton is its beginning as a German Catholic colony called Marienfeld, or 'Mary's Field.' In August 1881 a scouting party that included the Carmelite Father Anastasius Peters reached a little…
The dream of Marienfeld nearly died in 1886. The German Catholic colonists who founded this place had picked their ground in a good stretch of years and had no idea what West Texas could actually do. Then the weather…
Look out at the fields around Stanton. For a long time this semi-arid country was considered fit only for cattle. What changed that was water pulled up from underground — the Ogallala, the great aquifer of the High…
If you happen to be passing through Stanton on the right weekend, you might find yourself in the middle of a massive treasure hunt. It's called Old Sorehead Trade Days, and it's the town's claim to modern fame. It…
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…
Odessas Permian High School and the football team chronicled in Buzz Bissingers 1990 book Friday Night Lights made this West Texas stadium legendary. Permian…
You're driving through West Texas, and right here is Stanton, a town that owes its existence to a Carmelite priest named Father Anastasius Peters. He arrived in August 1881, leading a small group of priests and settlers…
You're driving through Stanton, the county seat of Martin County. This town, originally called Grelton, owes its existence to a determined German Catholic colony organized by John Jacob Konz and Father Christian Peters…
You're driving through Martin County, named for one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists. This land, once roamed by Comanche and Lipan Apache, was formed in 1876. It was a tough frontier, with early…
You're driving through Stanton, Texas, a town that owes its very existence to a surveyor named Adam Konz. In 1881, Konz arrived with a group of settlers looking for a place to build a new community. They found just a…
Stanton (Stanton, TX) placed on the 3A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Gage McCown (0.488 avg, 2 HR); Mason Martinez (0.484 avg).
Stanton sits where it does because of the railroad. Like many towns on the West Texas plains, it wasn't much until the Texas and Pacific laid tracks through here in the late 19th century. Suddenly, there was a way to…
You're driving past the old Martin County Jail in Stanton. Its cell block was originally part of the 1885 courthouse, built when this town was called Marienfeld. When that courthouse came down in 1908, the cells were…
You're driving past Marienfeld. Former name of Stanton. Begun as German colony by 5 German Catholics from Kansas, who pitched tents here, near new Texas & Pacific Railroad in 1881. The site -- with a water tank, section…
You're driving through Stanton, Texas, where in 1881, Carmelite Monks began establishing the first Catholic church and colony west of Fort Worth. They built a monastery by 1884 and St. Joseph's Church the following…
You're driving through Stanton, where Methodists originally shared a Union church with Baptists. In 1904, a revival led nine people to form their own Methodist congregation. They built their first sanctuary just three…
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,…
You're driving past the site of the Carmelite Monastery, founded in 1882 by German friars who established a German Catholic colony called Marienfeld. They built this adobe structure, using its thick walls and Gothic…
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…
You're driving past the Connell House, built in 1882 as the very first building in Stanton, originally a home for Carmelite Priests. Later, Dennis and Mary Connell made this their family home, raising eight children…
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…
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,…
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…
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"…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The land around Odessa speaks of ancient seas and relentless sun. Long before the oil derricks, this was Permian seabed, slowly lifted and sculpted by wind and time. You can feel it in the fine dust that coats…
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!…
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