Odessa, Texas
Population: 89,699
Located in Midland County
Odessa was established in 1881 as a stop on the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Odessa was supposedly named by railroad workers who thought the area resembled their home in Odessa, Russia. The unsurpassed beauty of the sunsets, and a climate that is warm and inviting make this true paradise. Odessa is known for it's people. It's a city where cowboys and culture, oil and ostriches live together in harmony. Odessa became the county seat when Ector County was formally organized in January 1891, and was a sleepy little cowtown until the first producing oil well With the opening of Penn Field in 1929 and Cowden Field in 1930, Odessa became an established oil center and grew rapidly. In 1925, just prior to the discovery of oil, the population in Odessa was 750; by 1929 it had risen to 5,000. During World War II the population exceeded 10,000, and Odessa became the world's largest inland petrochemical complex. In the 1950s and 60s the population rose to over 80,000. Medical care in the city is provided by Medical Center Hospital, a general hospital with teaching facility for Texas Tech Regional Academic Health Center's residency programs Odessa's water supply comes from lakes on the Colorado River supplemented by wells in Ward and Ector counties. It has a council-manager form of government, with a mayor and five councilmen. The annual Sand Hills Hereford and Quarter Horse Show and Rodeo is the first rodeo of the year for those following the rodeo circuit. Odessa is home to the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to the office of the presidency (dedicated in 1965) and to an authentic replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the Globe of the Great Southwest, located on the Odessa College campus. Odessa boasts the world's largest jackrabbit, whose temporary home is in front of the Ector County Independent School District administration building; the Meteor Crater at Odessa, one of the nation's largest known craters. The Permian Basin Oil Show is a biannual event staged at the Ector County Coliseum and features more than 600 exhibitors of oilfield products. Odessa's museums and theaters include the Permian Playhouse, the Art Institute for the Permian Basin, and the White-Pool House. The latter, built in 1887, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Texas Recorded Historical Landmark and a Texas Archeological Landmark. Recreation: Odessa has 30 parks, 4 volleyball courts, 15 cement tennis courts, 3 basketball courts 16 baseball fields, 13 softball fields, 4 swimming pools, and several walking trails. 4 community centers with performance stage with varied seating capacities of 100 to 150. Nine outdoor pavilions with picnic tables. Education: The Ector County school system's two high schools and all but one of its 35 lower division schools are located in Odessa; there is one combination elementary-junior high school in Goldsmith, the only other city in the county. Odessa and Permian high schools are known for their football prowess; Odessa High won Texas state high school championship in 1946, and Permian High captured it in 1964, 1972, 1980, 1984, and 1989. Odessa College, a two-year community college founded in 1946 under the guidance of Murry Fly, University of Texas of the Permian Basin, began classes in 1973.
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