251 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
-
Smyth, Rawleigh Porteus
· 4.6 mi · Historical Marker
(August 4, 1855 - February 2, 1941) An Austin native and graduate of the Texas Military Institute, R.P. Smyth became a Brigadier General after Spanish American War duty. As a surveyor, he ran boundaries (1887) of the…
-
JA Ranch, The Old
· 7.1 mi · Historical Marker
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…
-
How the Great JA Ranch Began in Palo Duro Canyon
· 7.4 mi
This canyon is where one of the most famous ranches in the West was born. In 1876 the trail driver Charles Goodnight brought roughly 1,600 longhorns down off the Colorado plains and into Palo Duro Canyon, the second…
-
The Civilian Conservation Corps at Palo Duro Canyon State Park
· 7.6 mi · Historical Marker
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…
-
Washburn, TX
· 7.7 mi · Tsha Handbook
Washburn, on U.S. Highway 287 in the northwest corner of Armstrong County, was part of the JA Ranch holdings from 1876 until the ranch was divided in 1887. In August of that year Robert E. Montgomery, who owned section…
-
Town of Washburn
· 8.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, but just a bit west of here, you're passing the original site of Washburn. Planned in 1887 by R. E. Montgomery, son-in-law of the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway president, Washburn was…
-
Palisades State Park Concession Building
· 8.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Palisades State Park, established during the Great Depression. In 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps built this concession building, designed by local architect Guy Anton Carlander.…
-
Palo Duro Canyon
· 10.1 mi · Historical Marker
You can drive across the Texas Panhandle and see nothing but flat grassland for hours, and then the earth opens. Palo Duro Canyon drops eight hundred feet below the plains, stretching 120 miles long and up to twenty…
-
Palo Duro Canyon
· 10.2 mi · Historical Marker
This is the second largest canyon in the United States, 120 miles long and 800 feet deep, hidden in the flat Panhandle like a crack in the earth. The Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River carved it over millions of…
-
Comancheria: The Empire That Rose and Fell on These Plains
· 10.3 mi
The High Plains around Palo Duro Canyon were once the heart of Comancheria, an Indigenous empire historians now rank among the great powers of early North America. The Numunu ('the People,' the Comanches' own name for…
-
Palo Duro Canyon
· 10.3 mi · Things to Do
The second-largest canyon in the United States cuts straight through the flat Texas Panhandle like somebody took a knife to a pancake. A hundred and twenty…
-
Lighthouse Rock
· 10.5 mi · Things to Do
Lighthouse Rock is the signature hoodoo of Palo Duro Canyon -- a three-hundred-foot pillar of red sandstone with a harder caprock balanced on top. The caprock…
-
The Big Texan Steak Ranch
· 10.6 mi · Attraction
Along Interstate 40 in Amarillo, The Big Texan Steak Ranch has served travelers since 1960. It is best known for its 72-ounce steak challenge, where diners attempt to finish a massive meal within one hour. The…
-
The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
· 10.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Palo Duro Canyon, the site of a pivotal battle in the 1874-75 Indian campaign. On September 28, 1874, Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie and the 4th Cavalry descended into this canyon, surprising a large…
-
Amarillo Tri-State Fair
· 11.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the historic grounds of the Amarillo Tri-State Fair! Horse races and fairs have been happening here since the 1890s, with the Panhandle State Fair kicking off in 1913. After a wartime pause, Amarillo…
-
St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery
· 11.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery near Canyon. This quiet resting place has roots stretching back to the early 1900s, when German immigrants began settling this area. By 1909, they had established a school…
-
Palo Duro Canyon
· 11.3 mi · Things to Do
Second-largest canyon in the US. The Grand Canyon of Texas with stunning red rock walls.
-
Llano Cemetery
· 11.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Llano Cemetery, a regional burial ground for the Texas Panhandle. Land was given in 1891, but the earliest known burial was Lillian Morrow in 1888, legend says a child interred by her traveling…
-
Amarillo Livestock Auction
· 11.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, the heart of the Texas Panhandle's ranching empire. Back in the late 1870s, this region was being transformed. Indians were expelled, buffalo herds vanished, and the first permanent…
-
Melissa Dora Oliver-Eakle
· 12.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a true Amarillo pioneer, Melissa Dora Oliver-Eakle. She arrived here in 1889, a widow with a personal fortune. She invested heavily in the growing frontier town, developing land for…
-
Amarillo Globe Dream House
· 12.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Amarillo Globe Dream House, built in 1925. This Tudor Revival home was a real estate and newspaper collaboration, designed to showcase local craftsmanship and materials. The Amarillo…
-
Husband, Rick Douglas
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Rick Douglas Husband, astronaut, pilot, U. S. Air Force colonel, and Flight Commander of STS-107 Columbia , was born on July 12, 1957, in Amarillo, Texas, to Douglas Earl Husband and Jane Virginia (Barbagallo) Husband.…
-
Marsh, Stanley III [3]
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Stanley Marsh III, businessman, prankster, and public artist, was born in Amarillo, Texas, on January 31, 1938. He was the son of Stanley and Estelle Elizabeth (Fariss) Marsh. Heir to a fortune made by his grandfather…
-
Amarillo Natatorium [The Nat]
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here on Route 66 is a building with a story as grand as any castle facade it sports. This is the Amarillo Natatorium, or 'The Nat.' It started in 1922 as an open-air swimming…
-
Bivins, Lee
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Right here in the Texas Panhandle, you're driving through the heart of a cattle empire built by Lee Bivins. Born in Grayson County in 1862, Bivins developed a passion for ranching early on. By the 1880s, he was making…
-
Farley, Cal
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here is the legacy of Cal Farley. This former wrestling champ and minor league baseball player came to Amarillo after World War I and built a business empire. But Farley's real…
-
Finklea, Tula Ellice [Cyd Charisse]
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the hometown of Cyd Charisse, born Tula Ellice Finklea in 1922. A frail child who battled polio, she found her strength and passion in dance, starting lessons at age six. Her father,…
-
Helium Production
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Right here in North Texas, you're driving through the birthplace of a vital, invisible gas: helium. During World War I, the U.S. military needed a non-explosive gas for balloons and airships, and they found it in the…
-
Herring, Cornelius Taylor
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, an empire built on cattle, railroads, and big dreams. Right here, Cornelius Taylor Herring, known as Neal, was a titan. By 1878, he was already running cattle in Archer…
-
Jones, Carolyn Sue
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, Texas, the hometown of Carolyn Jones, the actress who brought Morticia Addams to life. Born here in the 1930s, she was a loner who found escape in the movies. After graduating from…
-
Mesa Petroleum Corporation
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here is where a titan of the oil industry got his start. Thomas Boone Pickens, Jr. founded Mesa Petroleum in 1956, choosing the name for the picturesque,…
-
Nutt, Grady Lee
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the birthplace of Grady Lee Nutt, born right here on September 2, 1934. Licensed as a Baptist minister at thirteen, Nutt became known nationwide not just for his faith, but for his…
-
O'Keeffe, Georgia Totto
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here, the world-famous artist Georgia O'Keeffe found her inspiration. In 1912, she arrived in this dusty Panhandle town, seeking adventure and the wide-open spaces she'd read…
-
Pickens, Thomas Boone, Jr.
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the childhood home of one of America's most notorious corporate raiders, T. Boone Pickens. He started small here, with a newspaper route, but his ambition was huge. After college, he…
-
Sanborn, Henry Bradley
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, Texas, a city that owes its very existence to barbed wire and a visionary named Henry Bradley Sanborn. Back in 1875, Sanborn, a successful businessman from Illinois, was tasked with…
-
Thornton, Ward A. [Tex]
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, a place where Ward A. "Tex" Thornton made his name. Thornton was a master of explosives, and he became legendary for fighting oil well fires. In the 1920s, the Panhandle's…
-
Edwards Hall, Frances Leta Exum
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here is where Frances Leta Exum Edwards Hall took over the Dr Pepper bottling plant in 1952. She inherited the business after her husband died, knowing absolutely nothing about…
-
Wyatt, James Odis
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
James Odis Wyatt, physician and community leader, was born on November 30, 1906, in Victoria. He attended Temple and Dunbar school at San Angelo and graduated from Samuel Huston College (now Huston-Tillotson College) in…
-
Bivins, Mary Elizabeth Gilbert
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here is a place connected to Mary Bivins, a woman who left an incredible mark on this city. She moved here with her husband Lee around the turn of the last century, when he was…
-
Bush, William Henry
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, a place that owes a lot to a young man from New York who came here in 1879. William Henry Bush arrived as an agent for his father-in-law, the inventor of barbed wire. His…
-
Coble, William Thomas
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here is land once owned by William Thomas Coble. He arrived in Texas as a boy, working farms for fifteen dollars a month. But Coble had bigger dreams. He saved $400,…
-
Funk, Dorrance Wilhelm
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving past Amarillo, home of a wrestling legend who was as much a humanitarian as a "two-fisted buster" in the ring. Dory Funk arrived here in 1949, quickly gaining a reputation for his intimidating style. But…
-
Fuqua, Wiley Holder
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the city that Wiley Holder Fuqua helped build into a financial hub. He arrived here in 1889 with little more than a plan and ended up owning nearly everything. Fuqua started with a…
-
Gould, Charles Newton
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, in the early 1900s, geologist Charles Newton Gould was mapping the land. He was on horseback and in covered wagons, surveying underground water resources for…
-
Hazelrigg, Mary Lou Harris
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here in the North Heights neighborhood, you're passing a place that holds a lot of holiday magic. Back in 1965, Mary Lou Hazelrigg saw that many local kids might not have a…
-
Leidigh, Arthur Henry
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, maybe near Amarillo, where a groundbreaking agronomist named Arthur Henry Leidigh was hard at work over a century ago. From 1903 to 1908, he led USDA experiment stations right…
-
Marsh, Stanley
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the heart of the Texas Panhandle. Right here, Stanley Marsh made his mark in the oil fields. Arriving in 1926, he partnered up to develop major oil and gas properties. Marsh was…
-
McBride, David Nichols
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, David Nichols McBride carved out a life from the raw frontier. He arrived in Amarillo back in 1887, just after Potter County was organized. He claimed land…
-
Mead, Ben Carlton
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, maybe near Amarillo, where you can still see the legacy of Ben Carlton Mead. Born in 1902, Mead became a renowned western artist and illustrator, known for his incredible attention to…
-
Nobles, Millard Clinton
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here, you're passing through the heart of Texas oil history. Millard Clinton Nobles, a businessman who already ran a successful grocery company, turned his attention to the…
-
O. M. Franklin Serum Company
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the birthplace of a major veterinary breakthrough. Back in 1916, veterinarian O. M. Franklin developed the first successful blackleg vaccine in the United States. Blackleg was…
-
Potter County
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Potter County, the heart of the Texas Panhandle. This land was once roamed by ancient peoples and later by Comanches. But right here, in 1887, a brand new town was born out of a railroad…
-
Shelton, John M.
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Panhandle, and right here, you might be passing through country once owned by John M. Shelton. Born in 1853, Shelton started out on the open range in Shackelford County, wearing the same shirt…
-
Taylor, Jay
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here is a region shaped by giants of industry and ranching. Jay Taylor, born in Montague County in 1902, found his calling not on the open range, but in the booming…
-
Thompson, Ernest Othmer
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, you're passing through the territory once dominated by Ernest O. Thompson. Born in Alvord in 1892, Thompson became a shrewd entrepreneur and a decorated World…
-
Wrather, John Devereaux, Jr.
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Right here in Amarillo, Texas, you're passing through the birthplace of John "Jack" Wrather, Jr. Born in 1918, he wasn't just an oilman; he was a media mogul and a hotelier. After inheriting his father's oil company,…
-
Amarillo, TX
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, a city born from a railroad and a bit of a land dispute. It all started in 1887 when the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway pushed into the Panhandle. A group of merchants saw the…
-
Amarillo Symphony
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, home to the only professional symphony in the entire Panhandle region. It all started back in 1924 with just twelve musicians, calling themselves the Philharmonic Club. They played…
-
Amarillo, Catholic Diocese of
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, the Catholic Church has put down deep roots. It all started picking up steam in 1887, when the Fort Worth and Denver Railway arrived. Priests began traveling…
-
Choctaw, Oklahoma and Texas Railroad
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, the story of Amarillo's connection to the wider world begins. It was June of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1901</say-as> when the Choctaw, Oklahoma…
-
Crudgington, Jonathan Wilford
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, a city that owes much of its early development to a man named Jonathan Wilford Crudgington. Born in Tennessee in 1859, Crudgington came to Texas and got involved in railroad contracting,…
-
Diamond Shamrock
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Texas, and right here, you might be passing by the legacy of Diamond Shamrock. This company wasn't just one thing; it was a massive merger of three businesses. One part, Shamrock Oil and Gas,…
-
Guleke, James O.
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, a city James O. Guleke called home. Born in Grayson County in 1891, Guleke became a lawyer and a major civic leader here. He was instrumental in developing Palo Duro Canyon State Park…
-
Madden, Squire H.
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the "Queen City" of the Panhandle. Right here is where Squire H. Madden, a lawyer who arrived in the 1880s, helped secure this city's future. When a rival railroad threatened to bypass…
-
Plemons, William Buford
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Panhandle, perhaps near Amarillo, and you're passing through the territory of William Buford Plemons. He was a Confederate soldier, wounded three times and present at Appomattox. After the…
-
Twichell, Willis Day
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through West Texas, a land shaped by surveyors like Willis Day Twichell. Arriving in 1886, Twichell used advanced techniques, correcting for the Earth's curvature, to map out vast ranches like the XIT and…
-
Vandale, Earl
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, a city that became home to one of Texas's most passionate collectors: Earl Vandale. While he made his fortune in the oil business, Vandale's real love was Texana. Starting in the 1920s,…
-
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Amarillo
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here is the site of a major victory for veterans' care. Back in the 1930s, Congressman John Marvin Jones championed a bill to build a veterans' sanatorium in this area. After a…
-
Ware, Benjamin Taliaferro
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, in Amarillo, you're passing through the heart of a cattle empire built by Benjamin Taliaferro Ware. Born in Georgia, Ware's family lost their plantation during…
-
Amarillo College
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here, in the heart of the city, stood the original Amarillo College. It wasn't built by the state or a big donor. Instead, in 1897, two local men, Willis Twichell and James…
-
Archambeau, Ernest R.
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here is a place tied to Ernest Archambeau, a man who dedicated his life to preserving the history of the Texas Panhandle. Arriving in 1914, he spent decades as an insurance…
-
Defalco, Lawrence Michael
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, perhaps near Amarillo, where Lawrence DeFalco served as the fifth bishop of the Catholic Diocese. He was consecrated right here in Fort Worth in <say-as interpret-as="date"…
-
Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the heart of the Texas Panhandle. Right here is where oilman Donald Harrington and his wife Sybil decided to invest their fortune. In 1951, they founded the Don and Sybil Harrington…
-
FitzSimon, Laurence Julius
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the city that was home to Bishop Laurence FitzSimon, a man dedicated to both faith and history. Born in San Antonio in 1895, FitzSimon's life took him from Texas towns to Rome and back,…
-
Fuqua, Henry Earl
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here in Floyd County, Henry Earl Fuqua was planting thousands of acres of wheat back in 1919. But Fuqua wasn't just a farmer; he was a banker, eventually chairman of…
-
Furr, Crone Webster
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here in Amarillo, you're passing through the heart of a grocery empire! Crone Webster Furr started small, with a crossroads store near McKinney in the late 1800s. By…
-
Gerken, Rudolph Aloysius
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo, the first Catholic bishop of this city. Rudolph Gerken arrived here in 1927 to lead a brand new diocese. In just six years, he built twenty churches, thirteen rectories, six schools, and…
-
Jones, John Marvin
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Cooke County, the birthplace of John Marvin Jones, a man who became a giant in shaping American agriculture. Born in Valley View in 1882, Jones went on to serve as a Congressman and later as…
-
Nunn, Joseph Elbert
· 12.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Amarillo right now, and you might be surprised to learn that a prominent figure in the city's early development was a former Kentucky minister and educator. Joseph Elbert Nunn moved here in 1903,…
-
St. Francis Catholic Church Community
· 12.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the St. Francis Catholic Church Community near Amarillo. German Catholic settlers, drawn by colonization efforts, began moving here in 1907, forming the nucleus of the parish. Though town…
-
St. Francis Catholic Church
· 12.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past St. Francis Catholic Church. St. Francis Church commemorates a century of Eucharistic clebrations growing in love of God, family, land and country as a strong fiath community-March 13, 2008.
-
Henry Bradley Sanborn
· 12.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former home of Henry Bradley Sanborn, the man they call the 'Father of Amarillo.' Born in New York, he came to Texas in 1875 as a sales agent for barbed wire inventor J.F. Glidden. Sanborn was…
-
Edward L. and Margaret Seewald Roberts House
· 12.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the home of Edward and Margaret Roberts in Amarillo. Designed by Harold Walsh in 1949, this house was built with heavy input from Margaret, a student of Georgia O'Keeffe who became a nationally…
-
Eakle, Clarence and Lorraine House
· 12.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Eakle House in Amarillo, a beautiful example of Tudor Revival architecture. Built in 1925, this home was designed by noted Amarillo architect Guy Carlander for early business and civic leaders…
-
International Harvester Building
· 12.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past International Harvester Building. Founded in 1902 when J.P. Morgan merged several harvesting companies, the International Harvester Company came to Amarillo in 1919. By 1925, the company made plans…
-
Eakle-Archer House
· 12.5 mi · Historical Marker
As you drive through Amarillo, look for a truly unique home, designed by architect Guy A. Carlander. Built in 1923, this craftsman bungalow looks like an airplane! Its upper floor is designed like a cockpit, with…
-
Fain, Mary (Masterson) and John, House
· 12.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Fain House in Amarillo, a beautiful example of Colonial Revival architecture built in 1930. What makes this house unique is that it was built alongside its identical 'twin' next door, designed by…
-
Avery and Mary Turner House
· 12.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Avery and Mary Turner House, built in 1910. Avery worked for the Santa Fe Railroad for nearly 60 years, while Mary was active in the Red Cross and Salvation Army. This home, modeled after Mary's…
-
Galbraith, H.W. and Katie, House
· 12.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the H.W. and Katie Galbraith House in Amarillo, built in 1912. This two-story home is a beautiful example of Craftsman architecture, with its quality clapboards, exposed rafters, and shingled roof.…
-
Herring-Crudgington House
· 12.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Herring-Crudgington House in Amarillo, a beautiful example of Classical Revival architecture. Built in 1910 for the wealthy Day Herring ranching family, it boasted a grand entry portico with…
-
Houghton House
· 12.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and you might catch a glimpse of the Houghton House, a beautiful example of Prairie Style architecture. Built in 1914 for John Malcolm Shelton, a big-time cattleman and businessman, this…
-
Shuford-Killough House
· 12.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Amarillo, and right here is the Shuford-Killough House, built in 1913 for cattleman J.D. Shuford. Take a look at that design – it's a prime example of the Prairie School style, with its wide…
-
Polk Street United Methodist Church
· 12.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Polk Street United Methodist Church. The congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South was organized on November 23, 1888, by Rev. Isaac Mills, Rev. Jerome Haralson and eight members. The…
-
A.T. & S.F. No. 5000 "Madam Queen"
· 12.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a true legend of the rails! This is the story of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe's No. 5000, affectionately nicknamed 'Madam Queen'. Built in December <say-as interpret-as="date"…
-
Russell Hall
· 12.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Russell Hall, the first permanent building on the Amarillo College campus. Originally the Badger Gymnasium, it was built between 1937 and 1939 with federal funding. Designed in the geometric Art Deco…
-
Ordway Hall
· 12.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Ordway Hall, a building that's a real work of art. Built between 1936 and 1937, it was designed by architect Guy Carlander in a striking Geometric Art Deco style. Look for the buff brick and cast…
-
Polk Street Schools
· 12.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Amarillo's early public schools on Polk Street. The first, a Red Brick School, opened in 1900 for over 280 students, some arriving on horseback. By 1911, Amarillo High School was built…
-
Henry B. Sanborn
· 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and you're passing the site of a man who truly shaped this city: Henry B. Sanborn. Sanborn wasn't born Texan, but in 1875, he became the Texas sales agent for barbed wire, a brand-new…
-
Merge or Sling: How the Storm Dance Ends
· 12.8 mi
When two storms lock into the Fujiwhara dance, it can end one of two ways, and the deciding factor is size. If the two are badly mismatched, the bigger system simply wins: it pulls the smaller storm into a tight circle…
-
Santa Fe 5000
· 12.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wondered what a 'Texas' type steam locomotive looks like? You're in luck! This is Santa Fe 5000, nicknamed the 'Madam Queen'. Built in 1930 by Baldwin Locomotive Works, the Madam Queen was a 2-10-4 steam locomotive…
-
Amarillo
· 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, a city born from a railroad and a creek! The name comes from Arroyo Amarillo, a Spanish creek nearby. But the real boom started in 1887 when the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad…
-
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad
· 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Amarillo, a city born from the railroad. Back on August 30th, <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1887</say-as>, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad's construction spurred the founding of…
-
Bivins Home
· 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the elegant home of Lee Bivins, built right here in Amarillo back in 1905. Bivins wasn't just a rancher; he was a real pioneer in the Panhandle's oil and gas industry. He was also a philanthropist…
-
Site of Significant Archeological Find, American Mammoths
· 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here, back in 1928, construction workers digging the basement for the Santa Fe Railway building hit a real jackpot. They unearthed the remains of an American Mammoth! These…
-
Landspouts
· 12.8 mi
Out here in storm country, not every twister is born the same way. A landspout is the quiet cousin of the big supercell tornado. With a classic supercell, the spin starts high up inside the storm, in a rotating updraft…
-
Old First Baptist Church
· 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Amarillo's first Baptist Church, organized way back in September of 1889 with just sixteen members. Their first meeting house, built in 1890, had a belfry made of cedar posts and a…
-
Potter County
· 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Potter County, named for Robert Potter. He was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and served as Secretary of the Navy for the Republic of Texas. This county was formed in 1876, with…
-
Fisk Medical Arts & Professional Building
· 12.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Fisk Medical Arts and Professional Building, a skyscraper that was commissioned in 1926 by Charles A. Fisk and other investors. Designed by Amarillo architect Guy A. Carlander, this eleven-story…
-
Fort Worth and Denver City Railway, First Railroad Through the Texas Panhandle
· 12.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Amarillo, and just imagine: this railroad you're passing was the first to punch through the wild Texas Panhandle. Organized by folks in Fort Worth, the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway was…
-
First Transcontinental Air Service to Texas Panhandle, Amarillo Municipal Airpor
· 12.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Amarillo's historic airport, the site of a major aviation milestone. On May 29, 1929, Western Air Express launched the first segment of transcontinental air service right here, flying a Fokker…
-
Potter County Courthouse
· 12.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Potter County Courthouse in Amarillo, a building that rose from the dust of a massive oil boom. Back in the 1920s, the Panhandle was booming, and Amarillo's population nearly tripled! To handle…
-
Cadillac Ranch: Art in a Wheat Field
· 13.0 mi
If you're heading west of Amarillo on I-40, keep your eyes peeled for one of the strangest and most wonderful sights in America: Cadillac Ranch. You can’t miss it—ten classic Cadillac cars, from a 1949 Club Coupe to a…
-
The Big Texan and the 72-Ounce Steak
· 13.0 mi
You can't talk about Amarillo without mentioning The Big Texan Steak Ranch. You've probably seen the billboards for hundreds of miles. This iconic restaurant, with its bright yellow walls and giant cowboy sign, is a…
-
The Science of the Helium Capital
· 13.0 mi
Amarillo's nickname, 'Helium Capital of the World,' isn't just boosterism—it's based on unique geology and engineering. In the 1920s, drillers discovered the Cliffside Gas Field nearby. This natural gas reserve was…
-
The Mother Road's Path Through Amarillo
· 13.0 mi
The highway you're on, Interstate 40, is what replaced the legendary Route 66. But the spirit of the 'Mother Road' is still alive and well here in Amarillo. The old highway had two lives in this town. The original…
-
Pantex: The Nation's Nuclear Custodian
· 13.0 mi
About 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County, sits one of the most secure and secretive facilities in the United States: the Pantex Plant. Originally built during World War II as a conventional bomb factory,…
-
Potter County, Establishing of
· 13.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, a land shaped by Native American tribes, Spanish explorers, and the relentless expansion of the frontier. This area, now Potter County, was officially created by the Texas…
-
Potter County Library
· 13.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here is a building that started with a dozen local women in 1902. They organized the Potter County free library, raising money through bazaars and candy sales. Mr. and Mrs.…
-
Santa Fe Building
· 13.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and look up! You're passing the Santa Fe Building, once the tallest skyscraper in town. Built between 1928 and 1930 for a cool million and a half dollars, this 14-story marvel was the…
-
Alice Victoria Ghormley Curtis House
· 13.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Alice Victoria Ghormley Curtis House, built between 1906 and 1907. Designed by local contractor J. D. Singleton, it was built for the widow of Texas Ranger W. R. Curtis. Mrs. Curtis raised her…
-
Juan de Padilla
· 13.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and you're passing the site of a true Texas first: the martyrdom of Father Fray Juan de Padilla. <break time="400ms"/> In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1540</say-as>, he…
-
Saint Mary's Academy
· 13.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here is the site of St. Mary's Academy. Established way back in 1899 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, this school wasn't always in Amarillo. It started sixty…
-
American Legion Hanson Post No. 54
· 13.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Amarillo's American Legion Hanson Post, organized way back in July of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1919</say-as>. It's named for Dr. David T. Hanson, a local doctor who died…
-
The Yellow Name
· 13.4 mi
You're in Amarillo, Texas, so here's the color yellow tangent behind the name: amarillo is the Spanish word for yellow. The Texas city was first called Oneida, then renamed for nearby Amarillo Lake and Creek, probably…
-
Is the Sun Really Yellow?
· 13.4 mi
You're in Amarillo, Texas, so here's the color yellow tangent behind the name: sunlight contains a broad range of visible wavelengths and looks essentially white from space. From the ground it can appear yellow because…
-
Why Yellow Gets Your Attention
· 13.4 mi
You're in Amarillo, Texas, so here's the color yellow tangent behind the name: yellow is highly visible in many daylight conditions and contrasts strongly with dark lettering, helping explain yellow school buses and…
-
Leaves, Lemons, Mustard, and Gold
· 13.4 mi
You're in Amarillo, Texas, so here's the color yellow tangent behind the name: different chemistry can arrive at similar-looking yellow. Carotenoid pigments help color corn, bananas, and autumn leaves; when leaf…
-
Dust Bowl - Texas Panhandle
· 13.4 mi · Historical Marker
In the 1930s, the Texas Panhandle was at the center of the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history. For decades, homesteaders had plowed up the native buffalo grass that held the Southern Plains together,…
-
Yellow Stories, Journalism, and Fever
· 13.4 mi
You're in Amarillo, Texas, so here's the color yellow tangent behind the name: the Yellow Brick Road belongs to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and became a shorthand for an inviting path whose destination…
-
Amarillo, TX
· 13.4 mi
Amarillo’s always had a unique relationship with its water. Being out here on the High Plains, we’re keenly aware of how precious it is, relying heavily on the Ogallala Aquifer. So, the debate around the expansion of…
-
Hayden Pedigo (musician)
· 13.4 mi
Hayden Pedigo is twenty-nine, from Amarillo, and if you want to know what he does, he'll just read you his own Wikipedia page: avant-garde musician, politician, performance artist, and model. He's put out seven albums,…
-
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
· 13.4 mi
They call Palo Duro the second-biggest canyon system in the country — and depending on who's measuring, and how, you'll get an argument. What nobody argues is the size of the thing: a hundred and twenty miles long,…
-
The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day
· 13.4 mi · Local history
Most people picture the Texas Panhandle as flat as a skillet, and standing out there with nothing but wind, horizon, and that wide-open sky for company, it's hard to argue. But zoom out on the map and you'll notice the…
-
The H.B. Sanborn House
· 13.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and you might be passing one of the city's oldest homes. This is the H.B. Sanborn House, built way back in 1902. Henry Bradley Sanborn was a major player in Amarillo's early development.…
-
Thompson, General Ernest O.
· 13.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Amarillo, and right here we honor General Ernest O. Thompson. This third-generation Texan left college for World War I, earning a battlefield promotion to Lieutenant Colonel – he was the youngest…
-
Browning, Judge James Nathan, Homesite of
· 13.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here is the homesite of Judge James Nathan Browning. He started life with just a few months of schooling, teaching himself law by reading at night by pine knot light! After…
-
Wild Horse Lake
· 14.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past what used to be Wild Horse Lake, also known as Amarillo Lake. This playa lake was a lifeline for everyone crossing the high plains – from buffalo and wild horses to Native Americans, explorers, and…
-
Northwest Texas Hospital School of Nursing
· 14.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former Northwest Texas Hospital School of Nursing in Amarillo. Designed by prominent architect Guy Carlander in 1924, this building was part of a larger hospital complex born out of the…
-
Ranchotel
· 14.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over here for a slice of Route 66 history! The Ranchotel has been offering weary travelers a place to rest their heads since 1940. Back then, U.S. Route 66 was *the* road, connecting Chicago to Los Angeles. The…
-
Route 66 in Amarillo
· 14.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo on a road that was once called the 'Main Street of America' and the 'Mother Road.' Route 66, the first paved transcontinental highway, stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles. Here in…
-
Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Tascosa (Amarillo)
· 14.4 mi
Tascosa (Amarillo, TX) placed on the 5A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Jaxon Armstrong (0.500 avg); Sam Adams (0.453 avg, 2 HR).
-
Amarillo Natatorium ("The Nat")
· 14.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and right here is the site of the Amarillo Natatorium, better known as 'The Nat'! Opened in 1922 as an open-air swimming pool, it was enclosed the next year for year-round use. By 1926,…
-
Smith-Rogers House
· 15.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Smith-Rogers House in Amarillo. Built around 1904 for early settlers James and Marie Smith, this home originally stood on South Taylor Street. In 1945, Jesse A. Rogers bought the property,…
-
Civil War Veterans Reunion
· 15.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, and right here is where, for ten years in the early 1900s, thousands of Civil War veterans gathered for a massive reunion. Imagine this: folks arriving by train, horseback, even covered…
-
Col. John I. Gregg 1872 Battle Site
· 15.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, a land shaped by conflict. It's 1872, and the post-Civil War era is seeing settlers push west, often clashing with Native American tribes. The U.S. Army launched campaigns to…
-
Barbed Wire Fence in the Panhandle
· 15.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, a land once as open as the sky. But in the late 1800s, this vast landscape needed a new kind of boundary. Enter barbed wire. Joseph F. Glidden’s invention, perfected by 1876,…
-
Company F, 2nd Battalion, 142nd Infantry, 36th Division, Texas National Guard
· 15.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former training grounds for Company F, a unit of Randall County soldiers who fought with the famed 36th Division in World War II. These local men, including ten sets of brothers and a father and…
-
T Anchor Ranch
· 15.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the vast plains once known as the T Anchor Ranch. In the fall of 1877, Leigh Dyer, Walter Dyer, and Samuel Coleman arrived with about 400 head of cattle and built a simple log cabin. By 1881, this…
-
Ozymandias on the Plains
· 15.7 mi · Historical Marker
Two enormous concrete legs rise from the flat Panhandle grass near Amarillo, broken off at the thighs, with nothing above them but sky. There is no torso, no head, no plaque that fully explains. A small sign at the base…
-
Palo Duro Canyon
· 15.8 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, you're passing the edge of Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the United States. For millennia, this place has been a haven. Prehistoric peoples…
-
Lucille Nance Jones
· 15.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former Nance Ranch headquarters, once the heart of a nationally recognized Hereford breeding operation. Lucille Nance Jones took over the ranch after her first husband's death, then later married…
-
William Henry Bush
· 15.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Amarillo, and right around here, the Frying Pan Ranch once dominated the landscape. Founded back in 1881 by Henry Sanborn and J.F. Glidden, the very inventor of barbed wire! Their partnership…
-
Randall County
· 15.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Randall County, created in 1876 and named for Confederate General Horace Randal. Rancher Leigh Dyer, brother-in-law to cattle pioneer Charles Goodnight, settled here in 1877. The county was…
-
Randall County
· 15.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Randall County, named for Confederate General Horace Randall. It was created in 1876 and settled just a year later by Leigh Dyer, brother-in-law to the famous cattleman Charles Goodnight. The…
-
Conner, Lincoln Guy
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Randall County, and right here is Canyon, a town that owes its very existence to Lincoln Guy Conner. After building a cattle herd in Clay County, Conner drove his 350 head into the Panhandle in…
-
Dyer, Leigh Richmond
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, a land shaped by tough pioneers like Leigh Richmond Dyer. He started as a drover for Charles Goodnight in 1867, driving cattle on the famous Goodnight-Loving Trail. By 1875,…
-
Harper, Margaret Pease
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here is the place that inspired a monumental outdoor musical drama. Margaret Pease Harper, a woman with a vision, saw the dramatic potential of Palo Duro Canyon.…
-
Hutson, Lee John
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here in Randall County, you're passing through the heart of ranching country, thanks to pioneers like Lee John Hutson. Arriving in <say-as interpret-as="date"…
-
Randall County
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Randall County, right here on the Llano Estacado. This land was once the hunting grounds for Comanche, Kiowa, and Cheyenne, and even saw Coronado's expedition camp in Palo Duro Canyon back in…
-
T Anchor Ranch
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, in what is now Randall County, you're passing through the heart of the historic T Anchor Ranch. It started in the fall of 1877 when Leigh Dyer drove his cattle…
-
Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here near Canyon, you're passing the birthplace of a Texas legend. Back in 1960, professors here had a big idea: bring the history of this vast land to life with an…
-
Canyon, TX (Randall County)
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Canyon, Texas, a town born from the raw beauty of Palo Duro Canyon. Right here, in December 1887, Lincoln Guy Conner surveyed this land and settled. By 1889, he'd laid out the town, his dugout…
-
Cornette, James Percival
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Canyon, and right here is the heart of West Texas A&M University. For over twenty-five years, from 1948 to 1973, James Percival Cornette led this place, transforming it from a college into a…
-
Harrell, Edward Dow
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, a land shaped by giants like Edward Dow Harrell. He arrived here in 1890, a Georgia transplant who, along with his brother, first tried his hand at raising horses ten miles…
-
Hill, Joseph Abner
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Canyon, and right here is where Joseph Abner Hill led West Texas State Normal College for nearly forty years. Born on a cotton farm in Bell County, Hill worked his way through college and…
-
Sheffy, Lester Fields
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, a region rich with history. Right here, you're near where Lester Fields Sheffy spent much of his career. He wasn't just a history professor at West Texas State Normal College…
-
Walker, Darthula Adaline
· 16.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, perhaps near Canyon, and right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1920</say-as>, Darthula Adaline Walker arrived at West Texas State Normal College. She wasn't…
-
Georgia O'Keeffe in Canyon
· 16.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, Texas, a place that profoundly shaped the vision of one of America's most famous artists: Georgia O'Keeffe. In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1916</say-as>, she came to West Texas…
-
Buffalo Courts
· 16.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Buffalo Courts, a unique community project born out of the Great Depression at West Texas State Teachers College. Starting in 1933, students, locals, and government funding came together…
-
Goodnight, The Charles Memorial Trail
· 16.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving near Canyon, Texas, and the highway ahead approximates a route blazed by one of the most famous figures of the Texas plains: Charles Goodnight. In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1876</say-as>,…
-
Roan, Charles H.
· 16.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Armstrong County, home of Charles H. Roan. He was a local hero who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for incredible bravery during the invasion of Peleliu in World War II. Tragically, he…
-
J. Evetts Haley
· 16.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the birthplace and early stomping grounds of J. Evetts Haley, a giant of Texas history. Born in 1901, he grew up ranching and rodeoing, eventually earning a master's degree focused on the great…
-
Sam Wood Cabin
· 16.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Sam Wood Cabin, built in 1887 near Hog Town. Wood was an Indian Scout and a Union veteran of the Civil War. His cabin here once housed six families during an Indian scare, and it was…
-
Panhandle-Plains Museum
· 16.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Panhandle-Plains Museum in Canyon. Back in 1932, the State of Texas put up twenty-five thousand dollars to match private funds, building the museum's first unit. Since then, it's grown way beyond…
-
Claude Cemetery
· 16.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, and right here is the town's first cemetery. It all started in 1885 when Dan Cavanagh settled this land. By 1890, he donated the first grave site for Neal DeBerry, a railroad worker. Soon…
-
Canyon, TX
· 16.3 mi · Local history
Canyon's story is deeply tied to the vastness of the Texas Panhandle. While the text doesn't detail specific pivotal moments like wars or economic booms and busts, it does highlight the establishment of key institutions…
-
Helium Time Columns Monument and Museum
· 16.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Amarillo, and you might notice this monument to a gas that's literally out of this world! This Helium Time Columns Monument commemorates the 100th anniversary of helium's discovery in the sun's…
-
Ayers, Claude Monroe
· 16.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, a town named after a man who helped put it on the map. Claude Monroe Ayers wasn't just any resident; he was a locomotive engineer. In 1887, he piloted the very first Fort Worth & Denver…
-
St. Anthony's Hospital
· 16.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past St. Anthony's Hospital. This marks site of Potter County's first hospital organized by Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word on invitation of Father David H. Dunne, Pastor of St. Mary's Church in…
-
The Plant Where the Nation Takes Weapons Apart
· 16.5 mi
Out on the flat plains northeast of Amarillo sits Pantex, the United States' primary facility for the final assembly, maintenance, and disassembly of the nation's nuclear weapons. The part that surprises people is what…
-
Trusting Old Machines Without Turning Them On
· 16.5 mi
Here is a genuine science puzzle. The United States stopped live nuclear testing in 1992. So how do you stay confident that weapons built decades ago still work, when you've promised never to set one off to find out?…
-
Hudspeth, Mary E. House
· 16.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Mary E. Hudspeth House in Canyon. Built in 1909 by Thomas P. Turk, this house originally stood on Palo Duro Street. When West Texas University opened its doors in 1910, the house was moved to…
-
First Methodist Church of Canyon
· 16.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Canyon's first church, organized in October of 1889 by the Rev. B. F. Jackson. He preached in Palo Duro Canyon and held the town's first funeral and wedding in 1891. The original church…
-
The Careful Science of Things That Go Bang
· 16.6 mi
Some of the most demanding science at Pantex is the chemistry of high explosives, and the basic idea is more interesting than the bang. An explosive is just a material engineered to release its stored chemical energy…
-
Seeing Inside Without Opening It Up
· 16.6 mi
Here's a problem that shows up everywhere, not just at Pantex: how do you inspect the inside of a sealed, delicate part without taking it apart or harming it? The answer is a family of techniques called nondestructive…
-
Georgia O'Keeffe and the Panhandle Sky
· 16.7 mi
When a 28-year-old Georgia O'Keeffe stepped off the train in Canyon in 1916, she found a landscape that would change her life and the course of American art. Hired to teach at the local college, she was mesmerized by…
-
Canyon
· 16.7 mi
Head due south out of Amarillo and you'll hit Canyon — fifteen thousand people and the front door to Palo Duro Canyon. It's a West Texas A and M town, ninety-six hundred students who mostly clear out come summer, which…
-
Texas (outdoor musical)
· 16.7 mi
Six nights a week, June through August, the walls of Palo Duro Canyon turn into a backdrop for a show simply called "Texas." Thirteen hundred seats, open sky, a story set in the 1890s — a cattle baron named McLean,…
-
Tex Randall
· 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Tex Randall cowboy statue, a Texas icon standing 47 feet tall and weighing seven tons. Designed and built by Harry Wheeler in 1959, this giant cowboy was created as a roadside welcome…
-
Wagon Yard, Site of
· 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, and right here is the site of the old Ranchman's Wagon Yard, active from about 1890 to 1921. This was the town's go-to spot for cowboys and ranchers. They'd sleep in bedrolls on the ground…
-
Amarillo
· 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Amarillo, a city that sprang to life in 1887. Its name comes from the Spanish for 'yellow creek,' thanks to a nearby stream. Amarillo quickly became a hub for transportation and finance, and by…
-
Canyon Fire Department
· 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Canyon's first organized fire department, formed in 1909 with 21 volunteers and a new horse-drawn engine. Their first big test came in 1910, saving downtown buildings from a hotel fire.…
-
The Little House of Fellowship
· 16.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Little House of Fellowship in Canyon. Episcopalians started services here in 1910, and by 1928, this building was planned as a student center for West Texas Normal College. Opened in 1929, it…
-
Canyon, City of
· 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, a town named for the stunning Palo Duro Canyon just a dozen miles east. Imagine settling here on Christmas Day, 1887, facing down blizzards, sandstorms, and swarms of grasshoppers! These…
-
Smith Building (Palace Hotel)
· 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, and right here is the site of the old Smith Building, later known as the Palace Hotel. J. Frank Smith built this place back in 1906, the same year Canyon officially became a town. He even…
-
Neblett Hospital and Clinic
· 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, and you might notice the absence of a building that served this community for nearly four decades. In 1937, Dr. Robert Neblett, a specialist in childhood diseases, personally funded and…
-
Clyde & Grace Warwick
· 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, home to Clyde and Grace Warwick, a couple who left a huge mark on this region. Clyde edited The Canyon News for 45 years, winning awards and serving in the Texas House. Grace was in the…
-
The Sad Monkey Railroad
· 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and you might have just passed the site of a unique attraction: the Sad Monkey Railroad. For over 40 years, this narrow-gauge train carried visitors on a 20-minute…
-
First National Bank
· 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, and right here is the site of a bank that helped build this whole region. Organized in 1900 as the Stockman's National Bank, it was the very first bank south of Amarillo. This institution…
-
Randall County Courthouse
· 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, and you're passing the Randall County Courthouse. This is the second courthouse for the county, which was created way back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1876</say-as>. The…
-
Canyon News
· 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, the birthplace of the Texas Panhandle's first city newspaper. The "Echo" kicked things off in 1889. Then came the "Stayer" in 1896, which eventually became the "Randall County News." For…
-
Randall County
· 16.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Randall County. Formed from Young and Bexar territories. Created August 21, 1876 Organized July 27, 1889 Named in honor of Horace Randall 1821-1864 A distinguished Confederate officer who fell in…
-
Conner Dugout, Site of
· 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, Texas, and right here is the site of the Conner Dugout. This wasn't just any home; it was the very first home in Canyon, built in 1887 by L. G. Conner. Imagine a half-dugout, with windows…
-
Armstrong County Jail
· 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, and right here is the Armstrong County Jail. Built in 1894, this wasn't just any jail. It was constructed from stone quarried fourteen miles south in Palo Duro Canyon, hauled here by local…
-
Early Sheriffs of Armstrong County
· 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Armstrong County, where the lawmen of the late 1800s and early 1900s were true pioneers. These early sheriffs, serving from 1890 to 1926, didn't have it easy. They lived in jail quarters with…
-
Warner Memorial Community Center
· 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Warner Memorial Community Center in Claude. This building started life around 1912 as the Llano School, way out southwest of here. After it was vacated in 1930, it became a rural community center…
-
Presbyterian Church Building
· 16.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former Presbyterian Church building in Canyon, constructed back in 1926. It's a beautiful example of classical revival architecture, featuring a grand portico with Ionic columns and striking…
-
Claude, TX
· 17.0 mi
In the early 16th century, Spanish conquistador Francisco Coronado and his party passed through what is now Claude, Texas, on their exploration of the New World. The town was originally named Armstrong City after the…
-
Roan, Charles Howard
· 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Claude, Texas, the hometown of Charles Howard Roan. He was a young Marine, just twenty years old, fighting in the Palau Islands in September of <say-as interpret-as="date"…
-
Christian, James Terrill
· 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Armstrong County, not far from the stunning Palo Duro Canyon. Right here, James Terrill Christian built his ranching empire. He arrived with his family in Jack County back in 1881, but headed west…
-
Warner, Phebe Kerrick
· 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, maybe near Claude, where back in 1903, a local doctor noticed the women here weren't sick, they were homesick. His wife, Phebe Kerrick Warner, a writer and activist, decided…
-
Warner, William Arthur
· 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Claude, Texas, and right here is where a remarkable "first" happened. In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1912</say-as>, Dr. William Arthur Warner, who served as the only doctor in Armstrong…
-
Claude, TX
· 17.0 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Claude, the county seat of Armstrong County. This town owes its existence to the railroad. When the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway arrived in 1887, the original name was Armstrong City. But a…
-
First National Bank Building
· 17.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, and right here is the First National Bank building, completed in 1909. Rancher and banker L.T. Lester commissioned this Neoclassical showplace, designed by St. Louis architect R.G. Kirsch.…
-
Shaw-Keiser House
· 17.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Shaw-Keiser House, a beautiful example of Craftsman architecture right here in Canyon. Travis Shaw, a local banker and civic leader, commissioned this home in 1908. It was built as a one-story…
-
C.R. Burrow House
· 17.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Canyon, and look to your right! This beautiful Craftsman bungalow was home to Charles Richard Burrow, a true Texas entrepreneur. Burrow arrived in 1899, working for a hardware store. By 1919, he…
-
Armstrong County
· 17.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Armstrong County, organized in 1890 and named for early Texas pioneers. This area boomed with the JA Ranch, established in 1876, making ranching the chief industry. Farming took hold later, after…
-
Roan, Charles Howard
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, hometown of Charles H. Roan. A U.S. Marine, he volunteered in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1942</say-as> and served in the Pacific. On Peleliu Island, he saved four fellow…
-
Coronado Expedition
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Armstrong County, right where Francisco Vazquez de Coronado and his expedition passed through in 1541. They set out from Mexico City, on a quest for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold, known as…
-
Lester, L. T. Home
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, and right here is the home built in 1904 for L.T. Lester. Lester wasn't just a homeowner; he was a buffalo hunter and cattleman who settled this area back in 1889. He opened the very first…
-
Great Panhandle Indian Scare of 1891
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and if you listen closely, you might still hear the echoes of the Great Panhandle Indian Scare of 1891. Even though most Native Americans had moved on by the 1880s, settlers…
-
Warner Building
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, and right here, you're passing the site of the old Warner Building. Built in 1909 by Dr. William and Phebe Warner, this place was the heart of the town. Imagine: it held Dr. Warner's…
-
Claude
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, a town that owes its existence to the railroad. Back in 1887, the Fort Worth & Denver Railroad pushed into this area. The engineer on the very first passenger train, Claude Ayers,…
-
Claude News
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, and right here is the birthplace of a Texas newspaper that documented the Panhandle's boom. It started as the 'Argus' on January 1st, 1890, in this brand new railroad town. It soon merged…
-
Boy Scout Troop No. 17
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, and right here is the birthplace of a Texas institution: Boy Scout Troop No. 17. Organized way back in May of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1912</say-as>, it's one of the oldest…
-
Warner, William
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Claude, in Armstrong County, and we're talking about Dr. William Warner and his wife, Phebe. Arriving in the area, they married right here in Claude in 1898. Dr. Warner practiced medicine for 35…
-
First Baptist Church of Claude
· 17.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the First Baptist Church of Claude. Organized in 1890 with 19 members, the congregation worshipped in the Presbyterian building before building their own frame sanctuary in 1899. This…
-
Carroll, William A., M.D.
· 17.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Claude, and you're passing a park named for a man who dedicated his life to this community: Dr. William A. Carroll. Born in Tennessee in 1875, Dr. Carroll came to Claude in 1914 and practiced…
-
Slug Bug Ranch
· 17.3 mi · Things to Do
Five Volkswagen Beetles buried nose-down in a field outside Conway Texas -- a blatant rip-off of Cadillac Ranch seventy-five miles west on Interstate 40 but…
-
Heller, W. F.; Pioneer Farmer, Homesite of
· 17.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Canyon, and just ahead is the homesite of W.F. Heller. This Civil War veteran settled here in 1887 and was the first to farm this area successfully. He was elected the first county clerk when…
-
Dreamland Cemetery
· 17.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Dreamland Cemetery, a resting place with roots stretching back to the very beginnings of Canyon. It started life as Canyon City Cemetery back in 1891, the same year the first burials took place.…
-
C. Stuart Johnston
· 17.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past C. Stuart Johnston. Born in Belhaven, North Carolina on Dec. 31, 1900, Claud Stuart Johnston began teaching in Oklahoma after graduating from the University of North Carolina. Fieldwork for the…
-
First Baptist Church
· 17.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Canyon's First Baptist Church. Organized in 1890 with seven members, the congregation built the town's first church edifice in 1899. Their present structure was begun in 1929 and finished…
-
Slug Bug Ranch
· 17.9 mi · Historical Marker
About thirty-five miles east of Cadillac Ranch, in the empty hamlet of Conway, five Volkswagen Beetles stand half-buried nose-first in the dirt. They were installed in 2002 by the Crutchfield family, who ran a gas…
-
Fort Smith-Santa Fe Trail Gregg Route, 1840
· 17.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and just southwest of here, you might still spot faint traces of a vital overland route. This was the Fort Smith-Santa Fe Trail, pioneered by Josiah Gregg. On March 15, 1840,…
-
Amarillo Helium Plant
· 18.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Amarillo Helium Plant, a place that literally held the world's supply of a vital element. From 1929 to 1943, this plant was the first in the world to extract helium from the Texas…
-
First Tree Texas High Plains
· 19.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Panhandle, and look to your right – you're passing the site of the first tree planted on the High Plains! Thomas Cree dug his home into the earth here in 1888 and planted a bois d'arc tree. For…
-
Thomas Cree Homesite
· 19.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through the wide-open spaces of the Panhandle, and right here is the site of the Thomas Cree Homesite. After fighting in the Civil War, Cree came west in 1888 and settled on this land. With no trees…
-
The 33rd Anniversary National Convention
· 19.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Panhandle, and just up ahead, a convention in 1965 honored a local hero. The Men's Garden Clubs of America held their 33rd Anniversary National Convention in nearby Amarillo. While there, they…
-
Armstrong County
· 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Armstrong County, right where the wild frontier met the booming cattle industry. This land was Comanche territory until 1874, when the Red River War pushed them out. Almost immediately, ranchers…
-
Goodnight, Mary Ann Dyer [Molly]
· 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, you're near the legendary Palo Duro Canyon. This was the home of Mary Ann Dyer, known as Molly Goodnight. She wasn't just the wife of famous rancher Charles…
-
JA Ranch
· 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here, you're passing through the historic lands of the JA Ranch. It's the oldest privately owned cattle operation in the region, and its story begins in 1876 when…
-
Adair, John George
· 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Armstrong County, the heart of the Panhandle's vast cattle country. Right here, back in 1877, a partnership was forged that would define Texas ranching. John George Adair, an English aristocrat…
-
Goodnight Ranch
· 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Armstrong County, and right here is the town of Goodnight, named for the legendary cattleman Charles Goodnight. After splitting with his partner John Adair in 1887, Goodnight established this…
-
Hamblen, William Henry
· 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here in Armstrong County, you're passing through a landscape shaped by William Henry Hamblen. He wasn't a politician or a soldier, but a rancher who saw the future…
-
Goodnight, TX (Armstrong County)
· 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Goodnight is at the edge of the Llano Estacado on U.S. Highway 287 in northeastern Armstrong County. It was named for Charles Goodnight , who settled on a ranch near the site after selling his minority interest in the…
-
Paloduro, TX
· 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Paloduro, the headquarters of the JA Ranch , is off Farm Road 2272 between the watershed of Mulberry Creek and the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River in southeastern Armstrong County. Most of the residents of…
-
Wayside, TX (Armstrong County)
· 19.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Wayside, on Ranch Road 285 south of Palo Duro Canyon four miles east of the Randall county line and three miles north of the Swisher county line in the southwest corner of Armstrong County, was founded as a rural school…
-
T-Anchor Ranch Headquarters
· 19.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the T-Anchor Ranch Headquarters, built way back in 1877. Look around – this log house, constructed from timber hauled out of Palo Duro Canyon, is the oldest surviving home in the entire Texas…
-
Cadillac Ranch
· 19.6 mi · Historical Marker
In 1974, a San Francisco art collective called the Ant Farm convinced an eccentric Amarillo millionaire named Stanley Marsh 3 to let them bury ten Cadillacs nose-down in his wheat field. The cars span model years 1949…
-
Cadillac Ranch
· 19.6 mi · Historical Marker
Ten Cadillacs buried nose-first in a Panhandle wheat field since 1974, commissioned by eccentric Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3.