Sweetwater grew up as a railroad town. The Texas and Pacific Railway reached the area in 1881, and the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient railway laid tracks in 1903. The Bankhead ran through Sweetwater’s downtown commercial district, and auto‐related businesses, such as the Midway Drive‐in Theater, located west of town, began to appear. The Bankhead’s role in furthering America’s military preparedness after WWI is reflected in the many west Texas military training facilities located along the highway. Sweetwater is best known as the training site for the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II. Based at Avenger Field, these women were classified as civil servants rather than military, but flew every kind of overseas duty during wartime. Today, the National WASP WWII Museum at Avenger Field tells the story of these female aviation pioneers. In town, the Pioneer Museum exhibits Nolan County history in a grand classical Revival-style home.
Midway Drive-In
IH-20 Business, west of town
The Midway Drive-In Theater opened in 1948 and was one of three drive-ins providing movie entertainment in Sweetwater. Movies under a starlit Texas sky made the drive-in a perfect night out for families, friends, and sweethearts.
More Locations in Sweetwater
Palomino Motel
1500 Broadway Ave. E.
Gallop to the Palomino Motel to see one of the most interesting neon signs on the old Bankhead Highway. A relic from the 1930s, this brick tourist court was a restful place to park your car and your family for the night, or longer if you were working at the nearby Gulf Refinery
Dairyland
210 Halley St.
If you find yourself in downtown Sweetwater and in need of something sweet and nostalgic, pull over to Dairyland. At this 1950s drive‐in, you’re sure to satisfy your sweet tooth and sentimentality.
Bridge
Broadway Ave. W. at Cypress St.
Built in 1934 by the Texas Highway Department, this grand arched bridge just west of downtown Sweetwater travels over the former Kansas City, Mexico and Orient, and Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe railroad tracks. The bridge signaled the transition from the railroad era to the automobile era.
Roadway Segment
Old Hwy. 80 at CR 141
Imagine how many people have driven over this stretch of old Bankhead Highway between Big Spring and Sweetwater. Oil men, families on vacation, and Sunday strollers, and now you can get off of the main road and travel this nearly one mile‐long section from the 1930s that really hasn’t changed much in its almost 90 years of existence.