Editing Sweetwater, Texas (section)

==History==
The town's name "Sweetwater" is the English translation of the [[Kiowa language]] word "Mobeetie".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/08/09/from-bug-tussle-to-tarzan-here-are-40-of-the-oddest-texas-town-names-and-the-stories-behind-them/ | title=From Bug Tussle to Tarzan, here are 40 of the oddest Texas town names | date=August 9, 2020 | publisher=Click2Houston | access-date=23 August 2020}}</ref>

Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The [[Texas and Pacific Railway]] arrived on March 12, 1881, beginning Sweetwater's long history as a railroad town. To encourage the railroads, Sweetwater increased its water supply by building City Lake in 1898 (now called Newman Park), and three further lakes thereafter. Construction began on the [[Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway]] in 1903.  By 1912 the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe Railway]] was serving Sweetwater via its new Coleman Cutoff<ref>''Trade and Transportation''. (1911). United States: (n.p.). p.192</ref> and completing a connection with the T&P nearby at "Tecific" junction.  Businesses and homes were built along the rail lines. Texas and Pacific Railway passenger service was discontinued in 1969.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/texasmarkers/5928759465/|title=Texas and Pacific Railway, Sweetwater, Texas Historical Marker|website=flickr.com|date=July 2011 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref>

Gulf Refinery operated from 1929 to 1954, and at one time the town was a large telegraph center. The International Harvester Company operated a factory on W. Third Street in Sweetwater from 1920 to 1950. Gypsum plants, apparel manufacturers, cement plants, cotton compresses, a cottonseed oil mill, and packing companies were among the nearly 250 businesses operating there from the 1970s. Many still operate today. Sweetwater remains a production hub for such commodities as cotton, oil, and cattle. The population of Sweetwater has remained steady between 11,000 and 13,000 since 1940.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hes09|title=SWEETWATER, TX|first=HUNT, WILLIAM|last=R.|date=15 June 2010|website=www.tshaonline.org|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref>

At Sweetwater during [[World War II]], one class of [[British Flying Training School Program|British RAF pilots]] was trained before the airfield was converted for training American women pilots. The [[Women Airforce Service Pilots]] (WASPs) were trained under the direction of famed [[aviator]] [[Jacqueline Cochran]] at Sweetwater's [[Avenger Field]]. These WASPs were the first women to fly American military aircraft. The military airstrip was closed at the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-06 |title=National WWII WASP Museum in Sweetwater, Texas holds hidden history of female pilots |url=https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/national-wwii-wasp-museum-in-sweetwater-texas-holds-hidden-history-of-female-pilots/ |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=ConchoValleyHomepage.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=National WASP WWII Museum – Honoring the life and legacy of the Women Airforce Service Pilots |url=https://www.waspmuseum.org/ |access-date=2023-07-09 |language=en}}</ref>

Pilots flying over Sweetwater can still land at Avenger Field – the Sweetwater Airport (SWW). The National WASP WWII Museum is located at Avenger Field.<ref>http://waspmuseum.org/|National{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }} WASP WWII Museum website.</ref> The WASP women were not recognized for having served in the armed forces until 1977, after [[U.S. Senator]] [[Barry M. Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] and [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] Bruce Arnold, late son of [[General]] [[Hap Arnold]], gained their official recognition as military veterans. In 1970, the field was developed for [[Texas State Technical College]] in Sweetwater.<ref>Marina Nemir of Sweetwater, "WASP (Women's Airforce Pilots) and the Avenger Field in Sweetwater", [[West Texas Historical Association]], annual meeting, West Texas A&M University at Canyon, April 5, 2008.</ref>

Sweetwater is also home to the Pioneer Museum, with display rooms depicting the lives of early settlers. It has extensive photograph files, farm and ranch exhibits, Indian artifacts, and WASP exhibits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofsweetwatertx.com/index.aspx?NID=135 |title=City of Sweetwater, TX - Official Website - Pioneer Museum |access-date=29 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119131023/http://www.cityofsweetwatertx.com/index.aspx?NID=135 |archive-date=19 January 2013}}</ref>

The local newspaper, ''Sweetwater Reporter'', was founded in 1911. The newspaper, first established in 1881, was called the ''Sweetwater Advance''. It was later published as the ''Nolan County Review'', and became the ''Daily Reporter'' in 1911.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sweetwaterreporter.com|title=The Sweetwater Reporter|website=www.sweetwaterreporter.com|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> An historic, early 20th-century, stage theater has been renovated and is in full use. The Municipal Auditorium, where [[Elvis Presley]] performed twice in 1955, continues to feature live acts. Sweetwater's Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital was founded in 1976.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rpmh.net|title=RPMH – Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital|website=www.rpmh.net|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref>

Sports include access to a large public swimming pool and  an 18-hole golf course (opened 1958).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.golfnow.com/course-directory/texas-golf-courses/sweetwater-golf-courses/sweetwater-country-club|title=24/7 Tee Time Booking, Golf GPS & Scoring, Memberships and Social - GolfNow|website=GolfNow|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> Public fishing and recreational facilities are located at Lake Sweetwater.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoA0b-xb7-c| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521111024/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoA0b-xb7-c| archive-date=2017-05-21 | url-status=dead|title=Austin VS Clay: The Pussying|last=TheMineForger|date=19 November 2013|access-date=2 April 2018|via=YouTube}}</ref>

First Baptist Church had one of the earliest congregations in Sweetwater, and it continues to thrive.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5353001679 |title=Texas Historical Marker - First Baptist Church of Sweetwater |access-date=2013-04-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130628090341/http://9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5353001679 |archive-date=2013-06-28}}</ref>

Parts of the south side of Sweetwater were devastated by an estimated EF3 [[tornado]] that swept through town early in the morning of April 19, 1986.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ktxs.com/news/big-country/sweetwater-residents-recall-devastating-tornado-30-years-later|title=Sweetwater residents recall devastating tornado 30 years later|last=Jensen|first=Will|date=2016-04-19|website=KTXS|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref>

[[File:Wind turbine Sweetwater Texas 2652367828 01d4a129f7 o.jpg|upright|thumb|Wind turbine near Sweetwater, Texas]]
Sweetwater is the center of the leading [[wind power]] generation region of the Western Hemisphere. It is sometimes <!-- really? incorrectly --> called the "Wind Turbine Capital of Texas". The largest wind farm in Texas is [[Roscoe Wind Farm]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.power-technology.com/projects/roscoe-wind-farm/|title=The Roscoe Wind Farm Project, Texas, USA - Power Technology|website=power-technology.com|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> In 2009 about 1,330 direct wind-related jobs were created in Nolan County alone, where the industry generated almost $18,000,000 in annual landowner royalties and over $12,000,000 in annual local school taxes (2007).<ref>http://www.moakcasey.com/articles/viewarticledoc.aspx/Nolan%20County%20Case%20Study.pdf?AID=168&DID=288 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>

Special events include the world's largest [[rattlesnake round-up]], held annually since 1958 by the Sweetwater [[Jaycees]] on the second weekend in March.<ref>[http://www.rattlesnakeroundup.net The Sweetwater Jaycees' Annual Rattlesnake RoundUp - Home Page<!-- Bot generated title -->].</ref> It is held along with a gun and coin show hosted by the Sweetwater Rifle and Pistol Club, which was founded in the 1940s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sweetwaterrifleandpistolclub.com/index_Page385.htm |title=About Us |access-date=2013-04-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506083144/http://www.sweetwaterrifleandpistolclub.com/index_Page385.htm |archive-date=2014-05-06}}</ref>