Character of Midland
Books Available at www.petroleummuseum.org/shop.
  • Character Blog
  • About the Book
  • About Jimmy

Stories. Addison Wadley: Midland 'might have been just a suburb of Odessa'

7/29/2010

1 Comment

 
Picture
Addison Wadley (pictured) and his family were among the first to come to Midland. Addison's family, led by his father, settled here in 1883-84. The Wadleys would have a lumberyard named after them and eventually a major street -- and, some would say, even a river.

In the mid 20th century, Mr. Wadley gave a number of public presentations on early Midland at civic organizations, churches and other venues. Excerpts from those presentations painted a picture of what Midland was like in the early going:

"It was the good old days in Midland when a quarter's worth of steak would feed a family of eight. Haircuts were 35 cents and shaves 15 cents. And the butcher would give you all the liver you wanted.

"My father came to Midland in the latter part of 1883 and established the first lumber yard. The family came in 1884. I was four at the time. Originally, the town was called Midway, it being just halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso.

"At the time we came here, there were probably only 40 to 50 people here.

"Midland has always been a good town. Not a great many know that Midland once boasted a college. It was The Midland College. Parts of its main building can be seen on W. College St.

"The first church in Midland was baptist, located on N. Marienfeld street, where Service Drug stands now. It was soon followed by the establishment of Methodist, Catholic, Christian and Presbyterian. Other denominations came later.

"Midland has always been a good town but for its splendid progress and growth since the advent of oil, I give special credit to three men: T.S. Hogan, who built the Petroleum Building; Dr. John B Thomas, who built the Thomas Building (now the Leggett Building), and Clarence Scharbauer, who built the Scharbauer Hotel. But for the foresight and vision  of these three in particular, I believe Midland would only be a town of 6,000 and just a suburb of Odessa."

Wadley's comments were excerpted from the Midland newspaper in the 1940s. Two of the three buildings he mentioned -- the Leggett Building (on Loraine across from the Hilton) and the Petroleum Building -- still stand some 70-80 years after they were constructed.
.

1 Comment

    About the Blog

    Welcome, and thanks for your interest in what will be a rewarding trip through our shared past. This "History of Character" blog is only the beginning. A book by the same name -- "A History of Character: The Story of Midland, Texas" -- will be published September 2014. Through this blog you'll be able to track the progress of the project and learn along with the book's author, Jimmy Patterson. If you have stories to share that you think deserve mention in the history of our city, drop an email to historyofcharacter@gmail.com.

    Archives

    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    January 2012
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010

    Categories

    All
    A History Of Character
    Character
    Compassion
    Courage
    Discrimination
    History
    History Of Character
    Integrity
    Jno. Butler
    Joe Chavez
    John Butler
    John P. Butler
    Midland
    Mike Bradford
    Ntral
    Odessa
    People
    Sid Trevino
    Thoughts
    Vision
    Wadley

    RSS Feed