Midland County

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.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.