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is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, located on the Southern Plains of the western area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. The population was 94,996 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Midland County. The metropolitan area is also a component of the larger Midland–Odessa, Texas Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 255,978 as of July 1, 2007. People in Midland are called Midlanders.
Midland was originally founded as the midway point between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1881. The city has received national recognition as the hometown of former First Lady Laura Bush and the childhood home of former President George W. Bush.
Midland was originally called Midway because of its location between Fort Worth and El Paso; however the name was soon changed to Midland to avoid confusion with other towns in Texas named Midway.
Once a small town based on farming and ranching, Midland was forever changed by the discovery of oil in the 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. Soon, Midland was transformed 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.
Midland's economy still relies heavily on petroleum; however, the city has also diversified to 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 than there were workers to fill them.
D. Lance Lunsford wrote ''The Rainbow's Shadow: True Stories of Baby Jessica's Rescue & the Tragedies That Followed