• About Us

    History

    Midland High School's history goes back to the establishment of Midland County back in 1885. The one-room school house was for all grades. Sixty-four students attended the first school in Midland County.

    In 1893, a two story brick schoolhouse was built and the top floor was for secondary students. In 1907, Midland Independent School District was established. The first building to be officially named Midland High School was built in 1926 on the site of what is now Fasken Center, at 600 Texas Street. After 23 years in the Texas Street location, in 1949 Midland High School moved to its present location at 906 West Illinois.

    CATOICO was first established in 1929 and stands for Midland's three major commodities: cattle, oil, and cotton. The first CATOICO Queen was Martha Louise Nobles Black. Originally, the title went to the girl who was the most successful fundraiser. Since 1939, The CATOICO court has been chosen by the student body. The first CATOICO coronation activites were in 1936.

    The Bulldog was chosen as the mascot in 1925. Purple and Gold were chosen as the school colors in 1929.

    History information found in MHS 2001 Ex-Students Association Directory.

    On January 7, 1955, Elvis Presley performed in the Midland High School auditorium. Student tickets were 75 cents. See some of the the history of the MHS auditorium at http://scottymoore.net/midland.html.

    Taken with permission from http://scottymoore.net.

    Academic Excellence

    Academics are an important part of life at Midland High School. Midland High has won numerous first place tophies for UIL Math, Science, and Computer Science. The Social Studies Department sent a team to the national FED Challenge in 2000 and won the championship, bringing more than $100,000 in scholarships and grants for the students and school. In 2003-2004 alone, Midland High produced 5 National Merit Finalists, 11 National Merit Commended Scholars, 3 National Hispanic Scholars, and 2 National Hispanic Honorable Mention Scholars.

    School of Champions

    Athletics have a winning tradition at Midland High School. From 1957 to 1965, the cross-country track team won the state championship. The boys swimming team, started in 1961, was flourishing by 1968 when MHS alum Doug Russell won two Gold Medals in the 1968 Olympics. In 1965, the girls swim team was esatblished and they won two consecutive state titles. The MHS baseball team won the state championship in 1973 and in 2001. The basketball team went to state in 1973, 1994, and won the championship in 1998. The boys soccer team went to the state championship in 1994 as well. By 1996, the girls basketball team had won its fourth consecutive district championship.

    In 2002, the football team broke a 51 year playoff drought and advanced to the state championship. The girls soccer team has won the district title two years in a row (2003, 2004). Also, the girls volleyball team won a district title in 2003.

    Famous Alumni

    Olympian Doug Russell, Texas Speaker of the House Tom Craddick, Clarence Scharbauer, Jr., Former Midland Mayor Wes Perry, Former Midland Mayor Carroll Thomas and Frank Cowden, Jr. are a few of our most notable graduates. There have been professional athletes, politicians, key military personnel and even astronauts who have graduated from Midland High School.

    Community

    Since 1985, Midland has been named among the 150 best U.S. cities in which to live. Midland's warm climate, warm people and central location are the primary reasons for the city's popularity. Midland is located midway between Dallas/Fort Worth and El Paso on U.S. Interstate 20. Twenty minutes to the west is Odessa, with a population of about 90,000. Nearly a quarter of a million people reside in the Midland/Odessa metropolitan area. Midland serves as the administrative center for the petroleum producing region known as the Permian Basin, where about 20 percent of America's oil and gas reserves are located in reservoirs deep beneath the surface.