Midland. 1 City (1990 pop. 38,053), seat of Midland co., central Mich., in the Saginaw valley at the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Chippewa rivers; inc. 1887. Midland owes its development after 1890 to the Dow Chemical Company, whose corporate headquarters is there. Silicone products, chemicals, magnesium, and plastics are among the manufactures. Oil, coal, and salt are found in the area. The Dow Gardens Library and Center for Arts are in Midland, and Saginaw Valley State Univ. is in nearby University Center.
2 City (1990 pop. 89,443), seat of Midland co., W Tex., on the southern border of the Llano Estacado; inc. 1906. Midland has prospered partly because of its cattle ranches, but the city's reputation for spectacular wealth and its great spurt in population after 1940 resulted from the drilling of oil. Midland sits in the heart of the Permian Basin “oil patch” and has thus attracted numerous oil-company offices to the city. However, the city's growth slowed in the latter part of the 20th cent. Prefabricated metal buildings, oil field and transportation equipment, and paving materials are manufactured, and there is gas processing. A symphony orchestra, a planetarium, and a petroleum museum and hall of fame are in the city.
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