page_title: Midland, Texas
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Midland, Texas / Arts and culture / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: I took photo with Nikon camera of entrance to Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, TX.
context_page_description: Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County.
  At the 2010 census, the population of Midland was 111,147, and a 2019 estimate gave a total of 146,038, making it the twenty-fourth most populous city in the state of Texas. Due to the oil boom in Midland, certain officials have given population estimates above 155,000. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas metropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Midland County, the population of which grew 4.6 percent, between July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2012, to 151,662, respectively, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The metropolitan area is also a component of the larger Midland–Odessa combined statistical area, which had an estimated population of 295,987 on July 1, 2012. People in Midland are called Midlanders.
  Midland was founded as the midway point between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1881. It is the hometown of former First Lady Laura Bush, and the onetime home of former Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W.
context_section_description: Sitting on the southern edge of the Llano Estacado and located near the center of the Permian Basin oil fields, Midland's economy has long been focused on petroleum exploration and extraction. Providing more information about this industry is the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, located on the outskirts of town near Interstate 20. The museum houses numerous displays on the history, science, and technology of oil and gas development. The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum houses a collection of race cars designed by Jim Hall, a long time Midland resident who pioneered the use of aerodynamic downforce in the design of Formula One cars.
  Midland is also home to The Museum of the Southwest. The museum features a collection of paintings by various members of the Taos Society of Artists and Karl Bodmer as well as engravings by John J. and John W. Audubon. Located within the same museum complex are the separate Children's Museum and the Marian W. Blakemore Planetarium. The Museum of the Southwest is housed in the Turner Mansion, the historic 1934 home of Fred and Juliette Turner.
  On display at the Midland County Historical Museum are reproductions of the "Midland Man," the skeleton of a Clovis female found near the city in 1953. Analysis of the remains by Dr. Curtis R. McKinney using uranium-thorium analysis showed that the bones are 11,600 ± 800 years old. Presenting his findings at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in 1992, Dr. McKinney said, "[T]he Midland Woman was related to the earliest ancestors of every Indian who lives today, and she is very likely the only representative of those who created the Clovis cultures."
caption: Permian Basin Petroleum Museum
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