Architecture
1934 Pampa Post Office Building
A post office was established here in 1892, and in 1902 the town of Pampa was formally platted. Following the discovery of oil in the area in 1926 Pampa experienced a population boom which created a need for a larger post office.
History
Alanreed Cemetery
This public cemetery includes more than ten acres on a rise overlooking the community. The site became an important supply point with expansion of the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad. On April 24, 1902, Robert Mangum moved the post office from Eldridge (4 mi. N), renaming it for railroad trustee Alan H. Reed (1851-1906) of Philadelphia.
History
Battle of North Fork of Red River
On Sept. 29, 1872, Col. Ranald S. MacKenzie (1840-89) found in this area a 262-tepee village of Comanches defying treaties that sought to confine them on Indian Territory reservations. MacKenzie's 231 U.S. Cavalry and infantrymen captured the village in half an hour and routed Chief Mow-Way's warriors, who made a desperate resistance from sheltering creek banks.
History
Big Springs
Native Americans and military forces have long camped at nearby springs that served as an oasis in the surrounding area. In 1852, U.S. Capt. Randolph B. Marcy led an expedition in search of the Red River headwaters, and his party camped here on June 16. Records of later military engagements and expeditions involving Col. Ranald S. MacKenzie, Gen. Nelson Miles and others also noted the springs.
Architecture
Combs-Worley Building
Designed by Amarillo architects W. R. Kaufman & Son, this structure was erected in 1931 to house the offices of the Combs-Worley ranching and oil interests and Pampa professions and businesses. Modern art deco architectural influences appear on the edifice in typical classical rhythm and form.
History
George B. McClellan
West Point graduate George B. McClellan (1826-1885) was a U.S. Army engineer and a member of an expedition led by Randolph B. Marcy that explored the Texas Panhandle in 1852. McClellan Creek was named for him, and nearly a century later Lake McClellan was named in his honor.
History
Gray County
Formed from Young and Bexar Territories. Created August 21, 1876. Organized May 27, 1902. Named in Honor of Peter W. Gray 1819-1874. Member of the first Legislature of Texas. Member of the Confederate Congress. Appointed to the Texas Supreme bench in 1874. County Seat, Lefors, 1902. Pampa, since 1928.
History
Gray County 50th Year Anniversary
Lest We Forget; Gray County; 50th Year Anniversary; 1902-1952; Dedicated to our early day pioneers, through whose efforts Gray County was established. And who contributed so much to our 50 years of progress.
History
Pampa
In 1888 a telegraph station on the Southern Kansas Railroad developed here, and was named Glasgow. Renamed Sutton a year later, a post office was established in 1892 and the town was named Pampa by George Tyng (d. 1906), manager of the White Deer Land Company. Surveyor A. H. Doucette (1884-1964) laid out the town in 1902. The first school opened in 1903 and the first church was organized in 1906.
Architecture
Pampa City Hall
Construction of this and other major downtown buildings in Pampa came as a result of the Texas Panhandle Oil Boom of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Designed by architect William R. Kaufman to complement the Gray County Courthouse, which he also designed, the City Hall was completed in December 1930.
History
Peter W. Gray
(Front) Star and Wreath County Named for Texas Confederate 1819-1876 Virginia-born, came to Texas 1838. Aided 1839 removal Texas Shawness. Officer in Milam Guards, Texas Republic. Political, cultural leader in Houston, Republic, State, and Confederacy: he was district attorney, judge, Justice Texas Supreme Court, Legislator in Texas and C.S.A.
History
Pioneer Cottage
Built in 1903, one year after county was organized, by settlers Wiley Vincent and wife Katie. This small early Texas cabin has 2 rooms. In 1907, huge prairie fire missed it by only 600 yards. The cabin was bought in 1920 by E. S. Carr, Pampa mayor, 1917-1918 and 1938-1940. He gave it as a wedding present to daughter Edna and her husband Clifford Vincent, a son of the builders.
History
Red River Expedition of 1852
Randolph B. Marcy, U.S. Fifth Infantry Captain, and George B. McClellan led a company into the Texas panhandle in 1852 to determine the locations of the headwaters of the Red River. That summer the team discovered two main branches of the Upper Red River that intersect the 100th Meridan. The North Branch is southeast of Pampa.
Military
Site of Pampa Army Air Force Base
In the early 1940s Pampa mayor Fred Thompson and a delegation from the city's Chamber of Commerce traveled to Washington, D.C. to promote this area as a possible site for a military base. Attracted by the terrain, climatic history, available land and community response, Army officials chose this site for the establishment of an installation to train pilots and support personnel for World War II.
History
Woody Guthrie
American folk musician Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (1912-1967) moved to Pampa from his native Oklahoma at age 17. Here he learned to play the guitar and joined with other musicians to perform for area events. Guthrie briefly attended Pampa High School and, from 1930 until 1935, worked as a soda jerk at this site, home of the former Harris Drug Store.
History
World War II Prisoner of War Camp at McLean
A permanent alien interment camp (prisoner of war camp) in the 8th Service Command was established here during World War II. Construction began in September 1942 and American military personnel and German prisoners began to arrive in July 1943. The site included 25-30 buildings to accommodate the military and civilian personnel required to operate the camp.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
