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MONAHANS,
TEXAS
"The Oasis
of the West Texas Desert"
Ward County Seat,
West Texas
I-20 and Hwy 18
36 miles W of Odessa
26 miles E of Pecos
51 miles N of Fort
Stockton
Population: 6,821 (2000)
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"This
is my brother (seated) and me. Murray's Hardware can be seen across
the street. Its probably Main Street in Monahans. The date on the
pic is 1954. Obviously a hot west Texas afternoon." - Rex
Parsons |
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A Brief
History of Ward County
Thomas William
Ward was a Texas soldier and land commissioner, while John
Monahans dug the first water well between the Pecos
River and Big Spring.
Barstow
was the First County Seat in Ward County (5 miles East of Pecos).
Barstow was named after George Eames Barstow, a brilliant pioneer
irrigation scientist from Rhode Island who used water from the
Pecos River to produce abundant and profitable fruit and grape
crops until a devastating flood and a succession of droughts stopped
things cold. Shortly after farming stopped in Barstow,
oil was discovered in Monahans. George Barstow came to West Texas
in 1905 and is now buried in the cemetery. The current population
of Barstow
is just over 500 people.
Ward
County Courthouse |
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Welcome
to Monahans
TE photo |
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A
sample of the Metal art signs in Monahans
TE photo |
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