Editing Monahans, Texas (section)

==History==
[[Image:Ward county courthouse 2009.jpg|thumb|left|Ward County Courthouse in Monahans, December 2009]]
The [[Permian Basin (North America)|Permian Basin]], home to Monahans and [[Midland-Odessa combined statistical area]], is {{convert|250|mi|km}} wide and {{convert|300|mi|km}} long; Monahans is "The Center of the Permian Basin". The basin was formed during the Permian period, the final portion of the Paleozoic era. At the time, it was an ocean filled with abundant aquatic life.

In 1583, Spanish explorer [[Antonio de Espejo]] crossed this area on his way through present-day New Mexico. The Indians in the Monahans region were called ''vaqueros'' by these Spanish explorers because they hunted the "hump-backed cattle" or [[bison]]. Records of Spanish exploring the ''Los Medanos'' (the sand dunes) outside Monahans can be traced to the early 1770s.

Located in a region where native [[Comanche]]s, [[Mescalero]], and [[Lipan Apache people|Lipan Apache]] Indians once roamed, Monahans' history as a community extends back to the late 1880s with the expansion of the Texas and Pacific Railway across the South Plains. For the few people living in West Texas, the building of a transcontinental railroad through the area meant the arrival of civilization. In the summer of 1881, Texas and Pacific Railroad contracted with surveyor John Thomas Monahan, who discovered that the lack of water for the laying crew and their animals would slow down construction of the rail. Monahan's digging of a water well produced an abundance of good water ({{convert|250,000|USgal|L|abbr=on}} a day) and was instrumental in the success of the city. Prior to this solution, water had to be hauled to the area from Big Spring, Texas.

The availability of cheap land encouraged settlers to form a small community on the track known as Monahans Well. When oil was discovered in the area in 1926, though, the community changed directions. Oil discovery brought people of many occupations and of varied interests to Monahans. The local economy began to change from an agricultural to an industrial economy.

In June 1994, a temperature of 120&nbsp;°F was recorded in Monahans, a still-standing record-holder for highest-ever Texan temperature.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95877&page=1 | title=Record Heat Scorches Texas | website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] }}</ref>

===Monahans Sandhills State Park===
Thousands of [[tourist]]s each year visit [[Monahans Sandhills State Park]] near Monahans. Sand surfing and sand football games can be seen year round, but particularly between March and November. Monahans Sandhills State Park is host to many family picnics and youth activities.