Hometown of Laura Bush (former First Lady of the United States) is the one and only, Midland, Texas. The “Tall City” is twenty miles northeast of Odessa and thirty-nine miles southwest of Big Spring. Its exact coordinates are 31.9973° latitude and -102.007911° longitude and it is located in the Mountains and Basins region of Texas. The average annual high temperature is 80°F and the average low is 50.9° F. Midland gets 14.9 inches of rain and two inches of snowfall on average annually. The great city has 123,933 people living in 71.51 square miles of land in the city proper. Midland’s first permanent resident was Herman N. Garrett. He arrived there from California with a herd of sheep in 1882. Two years later many ranchers started moving to the area and in January 4, 1884, the area was granted a post office.
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This “area” is now Midland. An Ohio real estate firm bought land at Midland and founded Midland Town Company. They started to promote the town across the Midwest and they drilled three water wells. In January 1886 the city’s first school opened, and newspaper, the Midland Gazette, was advertising Midland as “the Queen City of the South Plains.” In 1890 the population grew to 600 and The First National Bank of Midland was chartered. By that time, Midland became one of the most important cattle shipping centers in the state.
In 1900, the small town’s population rose to one thousand! A second bank was established and a new courthouse was built. Every house there had a windmill in its yard, and Midland was nicknamed as “the Windmill Town.” Between 1905 and 1909, three large fires swept the town and the last one burned down a lot of its central business district. After the tragedy, the city leaders pushed for a water system and fire department, and by 1910 the city got what they wanted. By 1914 the city had 2,500 residents and a cotton gin, three lumber yards, many churches, and an opera house that seated three hundred people. Long droughts caused many people to leave Midland. Sadly, Midland declined and the population was only 1795. The decline soon turned into a raise thanks to the Permian Basin oil boom in the 1920s. Thousands of investors and workers moved in and Midland came back to life. Thirty-six oil companies had offices in Midland in 1929 and by 1927 street lights and paving improvements were being built. By 1930, 5,484 people were living in the city. A new airport and may luxurious hotels were made. One of the city’s first major industries was and still is oil. Sadly, in the 1930s the Great Depression decreased the demand for oil and many companies cut back production. Fortunately, after the economy started to recover, tons of new oil fields were opened and World War II increased the demand for oil greatly boosting the economy greatly. Midland continued to heal and grow and by 1940 the city had a population of nine thousand, three hundred twenty-five people. World War II caused a large demand for oil. The city made money from their Midland Army Air Force Base, the largest training base on Earth at the time, and later when the war ended the base was transformed into an excellent airport. The population grew to a whopping 62,625 people and there were more than 215 offices for oil companies. Unfortunately, the city’s economy decreased between 1960 and 1970 because of competition from foreign oilfields. Companies started leaving the area and the population went down to 59,463 people. Midland’s economy boomed after the Arab oil embargo leading to oil prices to increase. During this time, downtown blocks were raised, new buildings, and several office buildings were built. The population grew rapidly and the city had 92,000 residents. Contractors couldn’t keep pace with the demand. In 1981 oil was 40 dollars a barrel and newcomers lived in tents, cars, and trailers. The price of oil tumbled in 1982 and number of drilling rigs fell by 50 percent. This decline led to the failure of three bands in 1983 and many buildings were vacant and new houses weren’t sold. In the late 1980s the economy became more diversified but
This “area” is now Midland. An Ohio real estate firm bought land at Midland and founded Midland Town Company. They started to promote the town across the Midwest and they drilled three water wells. In January 1886 the city’s first school opened, and newspaper, the Midland Gazette, was advertising Midland as “the Queen City of the South Plains.” In 1890 the population grew to 600 and The First National Bank of Midland was chartered. By that time, Midland became one of the most important cattle shipping centers in the state.
In 1900, the small town’s population rose to one thousand! A second bank was established and a new courthouse was built. Every house there had a windmill in its yard, and Midland was nicknamed as “the Windmill Town.” Between 1905 and 1909, three large fires swept the town and the last one burned down a lot of its central business district. After the tragedy, the city leaders pushed for a water system and fire department, and by 1910 the city got what they wanted. By 1914 the city had 2,500 residents and a cotton gin, three lumber yards, many churches, and an opera house that seated three hundred people. Long droughts caused many people to leave Midland. Sadly, Midland declined and the population was only 1795. The decline soon turned into a raise thanks to the Permian Basin oil boom in the 1920s. Thousands of investors and workers moved in and Midland came back to life. Thirty-six oil companies had offices in Midland in 1929 and by 1927 street lights and paving improvements were being built. By 1930, 5,484 people were living in the city. A new airport and may luxurious hotels were made. One of the city’s first major industries was and still is oil. Sadly, in the 1930s the Great Depression decreased the demand for oil and many companies cut back production. Fortunately, after the economy started to recover, tons of new oil fields were opened and World War II increased the demand for oil greatly boosting the economy greatly. Midland continued to heal and grow and by 1940 the city had a population of nine thousand, three hundred twenty-five people. World War II caused a large demand for oil. The city made money from their Midland Army Air Force Base, the largest training base on Earth at the time, and later when the war ended the base was transformed into an excellent airport. The population grew to a whopping 62,625 people and there were more than 215 offices for oil companies. Unfortunately, the city’s economy decreased between 1960 and 1970 because of competition from foreign oilfields. Companies started leaving the area and the population went down to 59,463 people. Midland’s economy boomed after the Arab oil embargo leading to oil prices to increase. During this time, downtown blocks were raised, new buildings, and several office buildings were built. The population grew rapidly and the city had 92,000 residents. Contractors couldn’t keep pace with the demand. In 1981 oil was 40 dollars a barrel and newcomers lived in tents, cars, and trailers. The price of oil tumbled in 1982 and number of drilling rigs fell by 50 percent. This decline led to the failure of three bands in 1983 and many buildings were vacant and new houses weren’t sold. In the late 1980s the economy became more diversified but