Sweetwater

A store established in a dugout to accommodate buffalo hunters was the beginning of Sweetwater in 1877. Today, the seat of Nolan County is the banking and commercial center with industrial firms including gypsum plants, cement plants, cottonseed oil mill, and a garment manufacturer. The Sweetwater Commercial Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, includes more than 90 sites representing architectural styles from the 1900s – 1930s.

A memorial marker honors the women who trained at Avenger Field here during World War II in the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots program (WASPs). The training site is now the Texas State Technical College (TSTC) West Texas.

The Nolan County Coliseum Complex is the site of many activities, including team ropings, livestock shows, rodeos, and the “World’s Largest Rattlesnake Round-up” each year in March.

The Nolan County Courthouse has an outstanding collection of Winchester rifles, property of the Pioneer Museum which also houses Walt Disney’s “Fifinella,” the emblem adopted by the WASPs.

Sweetwater also hosts the annual “Texas Midwest Soap Box Derby.” The winner goes to the finals in Akron, Ohio in late summer.

The city also boasts two 18-hole golf courses.

Sweetwater lies on I-20 near the intersection of Hwy 84, a segment of the Port-to-Plains Highway connecting the state’s heartland to the coastal posts. Sweetwater is also part of the Texas Midwest Community Network and the northern gateway to the Texas Forts Trail.