Monahan's Well

Monahan's Well. . , In 1881, the surveyor in charge of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, Thomas John (Pat) Monahan, had hopes of discovering a water supply for trains passing through the western plains. Frustrated with the delays and costs of transporting water from Big Spring to the railroad crews, he stopped in a town, later known as Monahans, and dug a well. He hit water., Later that year, well construction continued and Monahan's well was eventually 53 feet deep, 18 feet in diameter and had 20 feet of inflowing water. The town set up a pump station and installed two water tanks. Not only did Monahan's well supply the town and passing trains with water, but it also carried gypsum, which the town mined and shipped to eastern markets for fertilizer production. By the 1890s, Monahan built a grocery store, general store, boarding house and hotel, for prospectors and land agents. Over the years, the town of Monahans developed as a hub for the ranching, farming and oil industries in the west Texas region., Although the surrounding town was originally named Trueheart and the land around the railroad was called Monahan's Well, by 1891, the Post Office dropped both names and established the whole region as Monahans. As electric wells came to replace older wells in the 1930s, the well was eventually filled with gravel. However, the discovery of water in Monahans was integral in opening the western plains to railroad expansion.