Odessa, Texas

Odessa is a city in West Texas and the seat of government of Ector County. It has a population of 99,940, according to the 2010 U.S. census. It is often associated with nearby Midland as the Midland-Odessa metropolitan area.

Odessa was founded in 1881 as a cattle-shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway. It was incorporated in 1927, after petroleum was found on a nearby ranch. It remains an oil-producing center of the Permian Basin.

It is the location of Odessa Community College, which hosts a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, which has a replica of Stonehenge on the campus. There is also a Presidential Leadership Museum in Odessa. It is also the home of Permian High School, one of the legendary high-school football programs in the state (featured in the book Friday Night Lights and the basis for the TV series of the same name).

Former Mayor Jim Reese, a pioneer in the development of the Republican Party in Texas, operated an industrial business in Odessa in his later years.

## See also[edit]

* Tryon Lewis
* J. L. "Dusty" Rhoades
* George E. "Buddy" West
* White-Pool House