The Indians in the Monahans region were called vaqueros by these Spanish explorers because they hunted the "hump-backed cattle" or bison.

Records of Spanish exploring the Los Medanos (the sand dunes) outside Monahans can be traced to the early 1770s.

Located in a region where native Comanches, Mescalero, and Lipan Apache Indians once roamed, Monahans' history as a community extends back to the late 1880s with the expansion of the Texas and Pacific Railway across the South Plains.

For the few people living in West Texas, the building of a transcontinental railroad through the area meant the arrival of civilization.

In the summer of 1881, Texas and Pacific Railroad contracted with surveyor John Thomas Monahan, who discovered that the lack of water for the laying crew and their animals would slow down construction of the rail.

The availability of cheap land encouraged settlers to form a small community on the track known as Monahans Well.

Monahans Sandhills State Park is host to many family picnics and youth activities.

In December 2015, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer voted Monahans fifth among the 10 "most conservative" cities in the United States in regard to campaign contributions.

[15] The Texas-New Mexico Railroad operates a 111-mile (179 km) branch line from a connection with the Union Pacific at Monahans.