Midland, Texas

== History ==
{{See also|Timeline of Midland, Texas}}
[[File:storm midland tx.jpg|thumb|right|Sandstorm, 1894]]
[[File:Midland, Texas (1894).jpg|thumb|right|Main Street, 1894]]
[[File:Bank of America Building, Midland, Texas.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Bank of America Building (Midland)|Bank of America Building]], Midland's tallest]]

Midland was established in June 1881 as Midway Station, on the [[Texas and Pacific Railway]]. Its name came from its central location between Fort Worth and El Paso, but because there were already other towns in Texas named Midway, the city changed its name to Midland in January 1884 when it was granted its first post office.

Midland became the county seat of Midland County in March 1885, when that county was first organized and separated from [[Tom Green County, Texas|Tom Green County]]. By 1890, it had become one of the state's most important cattle shipping centers. The city was incorporated in 1906, and by 1910 established its first fire department, along with a new water system.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hdm03 |title=MIDLAND, TX &#124; The Handbook of Texas Online&#124; Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) |publisher=Tshaonline.org |access-date=May 29, 2014}}</ref>

Midland was changed significantly by the discovery of [[oil drilling|oil]] in the [[Permian Basin (North America)|Permian Basin]] in 1923 when the Santa Rita No. 1 well began producing in [[Reagan County]], followed shortly by the [[Yates Oil Field]] in [[Iraan, Texas|Iraan]]. Midland became the West Texas oil fields' administrative center. During [[World War II]], it had the nation's largest bombardier training base. A second boom began after the war, with the discovery and development of the [[Spraberry Trend]], still the country's third-largest oil field by total reserves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/data_publications/crude_oil_natural_gas_reserves/current/pdf/appb.pdf |title=Top 100 Oil and Gas Fields |access-date=May 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515062119/http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/data_publications/crude_oil_natural_gas_reserves/current/pdf/appb.pdf |archive-date=May 15, 2009 }}</ref> Yet another boom period took place during the 1970s, with the high oil prices associated with the oil and energy crises. Today, the Permian Basin produces one fifth of the nation's total petroleum and [[natural gas]] output.

Midland's economy still relies heavily on petroleum, but the city has also become a regional telecommunications and distribution center. By August 2006, a busy period of crude oil production had caused a significant workforce deficit. According to the Midland Chamber of Commerce, at that time there were almost 2,000 more jobs available in the [[Permian Basin (North America)|Permian Basin]] than there were workers to fill them.

In 1959, [[John Howard Griffin]] wrote a history of Midland, ''Land of the High Sky.''

=== ''Avery v. Midland County'' ===
In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case ''[[Avery v. Midland County]]''. Midland mayor Hank Avery had sued Midland County, challenging the electoral-districting scheme in effect for elections to the County Commissioner's Court. The county districts geographically quartered the county, but Midland, in the northwestern quarter, had 97% of the county's population. A judge, elected on an at-large basis, provided a fifth vote, but the result was that the three rural commissioners, representing only 3% of the county's population, held a majority of the votes.

The Court held that the scheme violated the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]]'s [[Equal Protection clause]]. A dissenting minority held that this example of the [[Earl Warren|Warren]] Court's policy of [[Incorporation (Bill of Rights)|incorporation]] at the local-government level exceeded its [[U.S. Constitution|constitutional]] authority.