Formed February 26, 1887 (230th county)
Ector County (137,130), Odessa (99,940)
The Modern courthouse in Odessa was built in 1964 at the corner of Grant Avenue (United States Highway 385) and 3rd Street. The structure actually surrounds the previous courthouse built in 1938. One other courthouse (1904), also located in Odessa, has been in the county since its February 26, 1887 founding. The building was enlarged in 1985. Ector County was carved from Tom Green County as the 230th county. The city limits of Odessa cross over into Midland County to the east. Peters and Fields were the architects for the 1964 concrete and steel building. Matthew Duncan Ector is the namesake for the county. He was a Civil War private who gained the rank of Brigadier General in the Confederate Army. Odessa’s name origin is not clear but the most common understanding is that early settlers named it for Odessa, Russia.
Ector County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. Five District Court Judges and Three County Court Judges serve Ector County. The county is located in the bottom of the panhandle southwest of Lubbock, Texas and just west of Midland, Texas. Along with Midland, Odessa forms the center of the oil production industry in this part of the state. The county center is in Odessa 14.6 miles West-Northwest of the city center. The county is surrounded clockwise by Andrews, Midland, Upton, Crane, Ward, and Winkler counties.
The area of the county is 902 square miles. It is 159 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 27 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 152.03 persons per square mile making it 32 out of 254 in the state. Ector County has 71.9% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 20 enters from Midland County on the east and exits into Crane County in the southwest corner. United States Highway 385 goes from Andrews County, north, into Crane County, south. The county is a square with Odessa in the eastern quarter, on the border and extending into Midland County. Odessa is the county seat and the largest city. It is 71.7% of the county population. The county is pronounced EK-TUR. The county seat is pronounced O-DES-A. This county is in the Odessa Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Goldsmith
Odessa
