Region: Panhandle Plains
A store established in a dugout to accommodate buffalo hunters was the beginning of the city in 1877. Today, the seat of Nolan County is a banking and commercial center. Industrial firms include gypsum and cement plants, a 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–30s.
The Nolan County Coliseum Complex is the site of many activities, including team roping, livestock shows, rodeos and the "World's Largest Rattlesnake Round-up" each year the second weekend in March.
The Nolan County Courthouse has an outstanding collection of Winchester rifles, property of the Pioneer Museum. It also houses Walt Disney's "Fifinella," the emblem adopted by the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII.
Sweetwater 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 U.S. 84, a segment of the Port-to-Plains Highway connecting the state's heartland to the coastal ports. Sweetwater also is part of the Texas Midwest Community Network and the northern gateway to the Texas Forts Trail.