History
Randall County
Created 1876; named for Confederate general Horace Randall. Settled 1877 by rancher Leigh Dyer, brother-in-law of Charles Goodnight, man who brought first cattle to Panhandle. Organized in 1889. County seat: Canyon. Home of West Texas State University, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Palo Duro State Park, Buffalo Lake. (1966)
History
Randall County
Created 1876; named for Confederate general Horace Randal. Settled 1877 by rancher Leigh Dyer, brother-in-law of Chas. Goodnight, man who brought first cattle to Panhandle. Organized in 1889. County seat: Canyon. Home of West Texas State University, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Palo Duro State Park, Buffalo Lake. (1965)
Architecture
Randall County Courthouse
Second for county created 1876, organized 1889. First, a frame house, was site first school in county. On its tin roof cowboys held dances. This building was erected in 1909, on eve of opening of West Texas State University. Recorded Texas Historical Landmark - 1965
History
Sam Wood Cabin
Sam Wood cabin. Built 1887 at Hog Town (now a ghost town). Wood, an Indian Scout, Union veteran of Civil War, buffalo hunter, was father of bride in first marriage recorded in the Panhandle, at Fort Elliott in 1877. Cabin housed 6 families during an Indian scare. In 1954 it was moved, restored. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
Architecture
Shaw-Keiser House
Travis Shaw (1875-1946) was a local banker and civic leader who later served as secretary and business manager of West Texas State Normal College. He commissioned the Dallas firm of Lang and Witchell to design a one-story Craftsman style brick residence, and Canyon contractors Gillcoat & Skinner built it in 1908-09. C.O.
History
Site of an Early Barbed Wire Fence in the Panhandle
In the latter 1880s, when fencing was needed in the treeless Texas Panhandle, the solution proved to be barbed wire. Joseph F. Glidden of Illinois devised and by 1876 was manufacturing (with I. L. Ellwood) the first really practical barbed wire on the market. H. B. Sanborn was sent to Texas as their agent, and remained to become a builder of the Panhandle.
History
Site of Conner Dugout
First home in Canyon, a half-dugout, with windows at ground level. Built on survey located Christmas Day, 1887, by L. G. Conner. Location of Canyon's first post office; birthplace of Mamie Conner, first white child born in county. 1889 election to organize the county was held here. (1966)
History
Site of Old Happy
The Hugh Currie family home, "Happy Hollow" (built 1891, near this site), was for many years only house on Amarillo-Tulia freight and stage lines. Settlers got mail and freight here. The U.S. Postal Department cut name to "Happy" for the post office. The town moved (2 miles west) to Santa Fe Line, 1906. (1973)
Architecture
Smith Building (Palace Hotel)
J. Frank Smith constructed this commercial building in 1906, the year Canyon was incorporated as a town. Elected to the first city board of alderman, Smith operated a land company on the second floor. The ground floor was initially occupied by the Canyon Mercantile & Hardware Store. S. B. McClure opened the Palace Hotel at this location in 1912. A cafe, first operated by P. D.
History
St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery
German Americans from near Wisner, Nebraska, including Gustav Leseberg, Henry Meyer, and brothers John E., G. Henry and Ernest F. Albers, settled here in the 1900s. They were later joined by immigrants from around Bremen, Germany, and by 1909 the growing ethnic enclave established Keenan School and held Lutheran worship services, later organizing St. Paul Lutheran Church.
History
T Anchor Ranch
In fall 1877, Leigh and Walter Dyer and Samuel Coleman drove about 400 cattle to Spring Draw and built a two-room log cabin. The firm of Gunter, Munson & Summerfield bought their claim, and in 1880-81, cowboys built line camps and corrals and fenced 240,000 acres -- the area's first use of barbed wire.
History
T-Anchor Ranch Headquarters
Built by Leigh R. Dyer, 1877, of logs cut from Palo Duro Canyon. Oldest surviving house in Texas Panhandle. Dyer did first Panhandle farming. Sold 1878, to Gunter, Summerfield and Munson. Became center of area ranching and development. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967.
Quirky
Tex Randall
The 47-foot, seven-ton cowboy statue, known as Tex Randall, is considered a Texas icon. Designer and builder Harry Wheeler created the cowboy in 1959 as a roadside phenomenon to welcome travelers to his Corral curio shop on U.S. Highway 60 west to New Mexico. The giant cowboy relates to the western heritage of the Texas panhandle as well as symbolizing the state of Texas.
Military
The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
September 28, 1874 One of the most significant battles of 1874-75 Indian campaign; columns of troops converging from five directions harassed Indians on the Panhandle Plains for over six months. The 4th Cavalry under Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, moving north from Fort Concho, tracked a large band of Indians to their secret canyon camp.
History
The Canyon News
First city newspaper, the"Echo," was printed 1889. The "Stayer" (1896), later renamed "Randall County News," was predecessor of the "News." Clyde W. Warwick, editor 45 years, 1910-1955. Won awards for outstanding weekly 1942, 1950. Special Edition (1949) was rated nation's best. Troy Martin became editor 1960. (1968)
History
The Charles Goodnight Memorial Trail
The highway from this museum to the Palo Duro State Park (12 miles east) approximates course used by Charles Goodnight, outstanding Texas cowman and trail blazer, when he trailed 1600 cattle from Colorado to found first ranch on the staked plains of Texas in 1876.
History
The Civilian Conservation Corps at Palo Duro Canyon State Park
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a New Deal program developed under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide jobs to the unemployed during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The program was initially designed to employ young men and later grew to include World War I veterans.
History
The Old JA Ranch
In 1876, veteran Texas cattleman, Charles Goodnight entered Palo Duro Canyon by way of an old Comanche Indian trail near here, to establish the first ranch in this area. In 1877, Goodnight in partnership with Englishman John Adair moved farther down the canyon to lay out headquarters of the JA Ranch.
Entertainment & Sports
The Sad Monkey Railroad
Located in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, the Sad Monkey Railroad served as a tourist attraction for the many travelers to the park for more than 40 years. In 1953, J.H. Buchanan, owner of the Ford dealership in Canyon, purchased a narrow-gauge passenger train from a drive-in theater in Illinois. Harold E. Grear and James M.
History
Umbarger
Umbarger In 1895, Civil War Veteran and farmer S.G. Umbarger established a wagon yard and sheds for travelers passing through this area. The area became known as Umbarger when the Pecos Valley Railroad, built in 1898, named a rail switch after him. By 1902, the community had a post office; in 1904, later citizens established a public school district.
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.
