Midland was once the half way point on the Puyallup to Tacoma street car line. The community centering on 99th and Portland Avenue was platted by William H. Snell who purchased land from Ezra Meeker. A post office was established in August of 1890 and closed in September of 1920.

Ezra Meeker, planted what is believed to have been the first hopyard in the vicinity. The picked hops were transported over an old military trail between Puyallup and Steilacoom. Meeker sold his claim to Judge W. H. Snell, who platted a town site and named it Midland. By the 1940s, the modest homes of the town stood on open prairie beside a small mill.

Today, Midland is a residential suburb of Tacoma and development has largely filled in the prairie.