Andrews, county seat and only incorporated place in Andrews County, is located about 35 miles north of Odessa in western Texas. It is the commercial and service center for an oil and natural gas producing district. The first settlement took place in 1876. The first store and schoolhouse were built around 1908 and the post office opened in 1909. The name Andrews was taken from Richard Andrews, the first soldier killed in the Texas Revolution. The town of Andrews won a spirited contest with Shafter Lake to be the county seat in 1910, leading to the construction of the first courthouse in 1911. Materials from that courthouse were used in 1941 to build the first Andrews County Hospital, which was renamed Permian General Hospital a decade later. It now operates as Permian Regional Medical Center. Prior to 1930, growth was slow, but the discovery of oil in Andrews County fueled an increase in activity. The city was incorporated in 1937. Its first library began in a room at the courthouse in 1947, moving to its own premises in 1967. The history of Andrews is on display at the Andrews Museum. Odessa College, with its main campus in Odessa, has a nursing school in Andrews.