Blood & Biohazard Cleanup Near Northside Wink, TX

Wink is a small oil town in southwestern Winkler County, about seven miles southwest of Kermit, that sprang into existence in 1926 when oil was discovered in the Hendrick oilfield.

The town was first called Winkler, but postal authorities said that name was already taken, so residents shortened it to Wink and received a post office in 1927.

The Wink Townsite Company sold lots in the Horse Wells pasture of the T. G. Hendrick Ranch, and newcomers flooded in so fast that many lived in tents and makeshift houses.

Wink's population was reported at 3,500 in late 1927 and 6,000 by 1929 — and may actually have reached 10,000 to 25,000 — but the boom also brought bootlegging, gambling, and an underworld grip on city government.

By the 1930s the boom had faded even as five hospitals and fifteen doctors served the oilfield workforce, and the town legally incorporated in 1933.

In July 1960 the federal government approved more than a million dollars in urban renewal funds for tiny Wink, which used the money for paving and curb and gutter work.

The 2020 census counted just 915 residents and 333 households in Wink, a small fraction of its boom-era size.

Wink is the childhood hometown of singer Roy Orbison, who summed up life there as "football, oil fields, oil, grease and sand."

According to the National Weather Service, Wink is often one of the hottest places in the United States, with summer highs routinely above 105 degrees and readings over 110 degrees every summer.

Local students attend the Wink-Loving Independent School District, and all of Winkler County is zoned to Odessa College.