Zachary Taylor Brown was born in Illinois in 1850 to a prominent family. His father was a wealthy landowner and Baptist minister. He graduated from Blackburn Universities in 1874 with degrees in law and civil engineering. Two years later, he married his wife, Sarah, who started to work as the family maid in 1870. Brown established a law practice in Springfield, Illinois but only tried one case before giving up the profession. He and Sarah then moved to Texas where is parents were living.They arrived in Midland in 1882. Brown bought land seven miles southwest of the town and also acquired 1,000 sheep. He is believed to the be first rancher in the county to fence his land. In 1890, Brown sold the sheep and became a merchant. He was a successful businessman and he and Sarah would grow their family to six children. In 1894, Brown sold his business interests and became a rancher once again, buying land and now cattle in Upton County. Still living in Midland, Brown built the house in 1899 using a "kit" he bought from a Sears catalog. The Brown family owned the house until 1968 when the Brown's daughter, Sarah Brown Dorsey, passed away. The Midland Historical Society has owned it ever since.

The Brown-Dorsey House is considered to be the oldest house in Midland. 

Website

Owned and operated by the Midland Historical Society, the Brown-Dorsey House is a historic Victorian home. Erected in 1899 by prominent businessman Zachary Taylor Brown, it is believed to be the oldest home in the city and is still standing on its original location. The house features an asymmetrical design, ornamental jigsaw and turned trim, and a Gothic art glass window in. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. As of October 2019, the house is not open to tours as it is currently undergoing renovation.

Brown-Dorsey House

This tour of Midland begins at the Museum of the Southwest and stops by the George W. Bush Childhood Home and Museum before making its way downtown to include Midland Tower, Yucca Theatre, Midland County Historical Museum, and other landmarks. 

Museum of the Southwest The Museum of the Southwest was established in 1965 after members of the community came together in hopes of creating a cultural institution for the region. The museum opened in 1966 and changed locations three times throughout its history; it was originally located on West Wall Avenue, then Village Circle, and finally, to the Turner Mansion. Among the many additions over the years, the Planetarium was added after the museum was received a grant from the Blackmore Foundation. Some of the other additions made include: new gallery space, the children's museum, storage space, and the Lissa Noël Wagner Wing. Today, the museum is five acres in size.Turner MansionFred and Juliette Turner built the mansion in 1937. They hired Dallas architect Anton F. Korn, Jr., who designed it combining a number of architectural styles including the Tudor, Georgian, Art Deco, American Colonial, and Mediterranean styles. The home still features many original fixtures and details, and it was the first in Midland to have a pool; it also had a tennis court and horse stables.Fred, who grew up on a ranch in Coleman County and worked in the oil industry, was a successful entrepreneur. After he was laid off in 1927, he became an independent oil prospector, buying up vacant properties. He learned of what he thought to be a vacant 601-acre property near the town of Iraan. The General Land Office in Austin informed Fred that it was not vacant (i.e. someone else owned it). Fred contested this in court and won after many years. He drilled for oil on his property as well other land he owned throughout the Southwest. He was also a rancher as well, raising cattle and horses.Fred and Juliette were also involved in the community, donating money to various organizations and encouraging economic growth in Midland. They lived oat the home until 1963

The Museum of the Southwest is a history, art, culture, and science museum established in 1965. It is comprised of four buildings: the historic Turner Mansion, the Turner Memorial Art Museum, the Durham Children's Museum, and the Blakemore Planetarium. An accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums, the museum offers a variety of exhibitions, programs, events throughout the year. The museum's collection consists of around 45,000 archaeological artifacts and more than 1,700 works of art. Highlights include lithographs of four-legged animals by John James Audubon (who is famous for his work "The Birds of America"), photographs of Native Americans by Edward Curtis, and art created by contemporary Southwestern artists. The historic Turner Mansion was built in 1937 and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museum of the Southwest 

The George W. Bush Childhood Home was inhabited by the Bush
family from 1951 through 1955.&nbsp; It was
the first home of Jeb Bush, who was born in Midland in 1953.&nbsp; During the time the Bushes lived in this
home, the town of Midland was undergoing a major industrial boom, with over 215
oil companies having opened up shop in the town by 1950 and more to come in the
coming decade.&nbsp; So many businesses were
flooding into the town that it caused a building frenzy in order to house them
all. &nbsp;

As a result of the oil industry influx, the years the Bushes
lived in Midland were years of prosperity and lasting achievement for the city
and its citizens.&nbsp; Many of the facets of
the city, such as Midland Memorial Hospital, opened their doors during the
years between 1950 and 1960.&nbsp; The sudden
prosperity of Midland also helped develop its unique culture.&nbsp; In the words of John Howard Griffin, Midland
is “A cosmopolitan city of contrasts, one still sees ranchers and cowboys
seated in the lobby of the Scharbaeur hotel alongside oil executives.&nbsp; One can still hear the coyotes at night and
see the jackrabbits and antelopes.&nbsp; It is
the same as it has always been.&nbsp; One
feels the solitary serenity of the plains and an almost tangible kinship with
the past.”

The Home now serves as a reminder of these times, as well as
a museum dedicated to the lives of “two presidents, two governors, and two
first ladies.”&nbsp; When converted to a
museum and historical site, the house had undergone very few changes since the
family left in 1956.&nbsp; The interior of the
home and the details of the architecture which had changed were restored during
the first phase of restoration.&nbsp; During
the second phase of restoration, a number of nearby homes were purchased and
the visitor center and gallery were constructed.&nbsp; The second phase is ongoing and seeks to
recreate the original sense of neighborhood the Bush family experienced in
1950s Midland.&nbsp; The Home has been
maintained in such a way to avoid minimal intrusion of non-period architecture,
signage, and appearance.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Located in the heart of residential Midland, TX, the George W. Bush Childhood Home and Museum is a non-profit museum focusing on life in the 1950s.  Dedicated and opened to the public in April of 2006, it stands as one of a very small number of 1950s residential restorations and is the first 1950s historical Presidential home.  In addition to being the home of 41st President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush, it was also the home of 43rd President George W. Bush and Presidential candidate and Florida governor Jeb Bush.

The George W. Bush Childhood Home 

Midland's history dates back to 1881 when it began as a railroad stop on the T&amp;P Railway, which ran from Fort Worth to El Paso. The settlement was first called "Midway" in 1884 but eventually became Midland. Like in other parts of the state, Midland's economy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was based on the cattle industry. However, once oil was discovered in the early 1920s, everything changed; the oil industry took over and Midland quickly became the region's oil center (geologically speaking, the city is located in a region is known as the Permian Basin, which covers a large portion of west Texas and contains large deposits of oil and natural gas). Thousands of investors and workers came to the region as did major oil companies.The post-World War II years saw a "second oil boom" in the region. Recognizing the need for a central location for the region's oil industry, a group of Midland oilmen proposed the building the tower and provided the funds for its construction. The building was not the city's tallest but it was modern and represented the important status Midland had achieved up to that point. Usage of the tower started to decline in the 1960s and tenants moved to newer, more modern buildings. It appears, however, that in recent years that Midland Tower has been renovated.

This downtown office tower was constructed in 1948 and marked a turning point in the mid-century growth of Midland. The building was erected for the express purpose of providing much-needed office space for tenants associated with the oil industry including oil companies, lawyers, engineers, and geologists. The building was so large that, at the time, it contained one quarter of the city's office space. Well-known Texas architect Wyatt Hedrick designed the tower in the Modernistic style with Art Deco elements. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1915 and remains an office building today. 

Midland Tower

Thanks in large part to the petroleum industry, Midland's economy (and that of Texas in general) was booming in the 1920s. As a result, the population grew and along with that demand for entertainment venues. Answering the call was a man named T.S. Hogan, who was a successful oilman and former U.S. Senator from Montana. He hired Hedrick, who was based in Fort Wayne, to design the theater. Construction began in 1927 and was finished two years later. A multi-purpose facility, the Yucca hosted a wide range of shows and events including operas, vaudeville acts, and high school graduations. The Midland Community Theatre bought it in 1999.

The historic Yucca Theatre is one of Midland's most architecturally unique landmarks. Constructed in 1927, the theater was designed by architect Wyatt C. Hedrick in the Gothic style which had grown popular at this time and was widely used for theater design in major cities. The facade of the building features elaborate stonework and the interior features an elaborate Egyptian/Assyrian design with gilded lions and ornate light fixtures and columns. The Yucca is owned by the Midland Community Theatre company, which offers a diverse lineup of productions each year. The company also puts on an annual vaudeville show called "Summer Mummers."

Yucca Theatre

The Midland County Museum has a lengthy history. Margarite Hester, Midland County Librarian in the 1930s, put together a display of historic items in 1932 in the basement of the County Courthouse. Local rancher Porter Rankin became interested in the project and contributed a number of items he owned, including Native American relics. Other citizens became interested and helped catalog the collection. Through newspaper stories and word of mouth, the small group collected funds for display cases. Over time many historic items and photographs were added to the museum.When the Midland County Historical Society formed, the group chose to adopt the museum as one of its projects. For most of the museum's history it has been operated by volunteers. Over the years the museum was housed in different locations, the Courthouse, the County Library, in its own county building, and currently in its location at the corner of Main Street and Texas Avenue (originally the Woolworth store building).The museum currently displays temporary exhibits while funds are being raised to create a comprehensive permanent exhibit detailing the history of Midland County.

The Museum is open Thursday-Saturday each week from 11 am to 4 pm. The current exhibits are:
From Plan to Plans and Petroleum: Midland During World War II. 
Paleo-Midland: The Story of the Midland Woman Skull
The Midland Historical Society will be developing new exhibits over the next year as funding is available.
The Museum also holds a large collection of historical documents including obituaries and newspapers from the Midland Reporter Telegram as well as images related to Midland history. These archives are available to the public by appointment only.​

Midland County Historical Museum

Pliska was born in the town of Tyne, Moravia, which is located in the Czech Republic, on December 6, 1879. His father operated a Blacksmith shop and a carriage shop and Pliska apprenticed in both growing up. As a young man in the Austro-Hungarian Army, he attended a balloon and glider school; he would later use the skills he learned to build the airplane. In 1896, he and his family immigrated to the United States and settled in central Texas.In 1903, Pliska decided to go to Mexico but on the way there, the train stopped in Midland and went to the local Blacksmith shop to check it out. After learning about Pliska's background, the shop owner, C.C. Slaughter, accepted Pliska's offer to help repair a windmill. Impressed with his skills, Slaughter hired him to work on his ranch. Two years later, he got married to a woman named Louise Handle and they lived at the ranch (they would eventually have seven children). In 1907, he and Louise's brother, John, bought a Blacksmith in Midland, where they would shoe the horses for General Pershing.The next year is when Pliska started to make plans to build the plane. Over the next couple of years he gathered materials and even got a closeup look at one of the planes built by the Wright Brothers, which landed in Midland as it was making a trip across the country. Finally, he finished the plane in 1912. It had a 33- foot long wingspan, 27.5 fuselage, and was 7.5 feet tall. It was, however, only able to fly for 15 minutes, did not have enough power, and the wings had canvas cloth instead of the more expensive balloon silk.Pliska eventually dismantled the plane later that year after it hit some trees. Louise was also very worried about his safety. He never reassembled the plane again and it remained in storage for the rest of his life. He worked at the Blacksmith shop until 1952 when health problems forced him to retire. He passed away in 1956. Their children donated the plane, which was stored in the shop, to the city in 1962. Local members of the Experimental Aircraft Association restored it and it now hangs in the Midland airport.

This historical marker commemorates the life of master Blacksmith and airplane builder John Valentine Pliska (1879-1956), who, in 1912, was the first local to build and fly an airplane. The marker was placed here because this is where Pliska's Blacksmith shop was once located. Pliska is also notable for being associated with General John J. Pershing (1860-1948), who had Pliska shoe his horses at the shop in 1907.  

History of Midland Texas Walking Tour

Brown-Dorsey House

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information