Hemphill County, Texas
Canadian is home to 31 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
Formed form Young and Bexar territories. Created August 21, 1876. Organized July 5, 1886. Named in honor of John Hemphill, 1809-1862. First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Texas. Adjutant General of…
View on map ↗The Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area contains approximately 6,000 acres of upland sandhills, pastures, natural meadows and woodlands fronting the north bank of the Canadian River. Named for Eugene A. Howe, Amarillo…
View on map ↗(1803 - 1862) Star and Wreath. On the eve of secession, U.S. Senator Hemphill set forth to Senate January 1861 Texas' right to secede and again became a sovereign nation. Elected delegate provisional Confederate…
View on map ↗Only structure in the nation built, owned and still operated by a local chapter of Women's Christian Temperance Union. Built 1911, with financing and upkeep from annual bazaars held since 1906. Also, used by public…
View on map ↗Trade, exploration and hunting trails along the Canadian are older than recorded history-old when used 1541 by Spaniard Coronado hunting golden cities of Cibola. Route in 1840 for Josiah Gregg and 34 Missouri men with…
View on map ↗Begun 1891 by blacksmith J. C. Studer who came from Kansas in 1886. His occupation inspired Anvil brand and name of ranch. Ran only purebred cattle after 1919. Drew top cattle buyers. Spread grew from two sections to…
View on map ↗Bought in 1890 and placed in old Presbyterian Church, used by several faiths. Was first church bell in Canadian, Hemphill County. Congregation held suppers and other projects to repay bank loan on bell. Later bell was…
View on map ↗Indian raids brought General Miles' men to Texas in 1874 as part of U.S. Army pincer's tactic operating from a dugout post. The twelve infantry and cavalry units had supply camps on the Canadian, Red and Washita rivers.…
View on map ↗(1854 - 1930) Born in Massachusetts. Came to Texas, 1888, as Hemphill County's first public school teacher. Often saw Indians darken the schoolroom windows trying to watch her classes recite. Married Will C. Isaacs in…
View on map ↗(1845-1935) Famed hunter, in 1870s killed buffalo on this square; was one of the first men to hunt commercially. Came to Texas in 1874. In 1887, helped to survey the townsite here, where he became lifelong resident,…
View on map ↗(February 14, 1897 - January 25, 1958) A leader in America's finance and transportation. Born here, in house built by lawyer Temple Houston, son of Republic of Texas President Sam Houston. His grandfather was…
View on map ↗(2.5 miles south, 1.7 miles east) During the U.S. Army campaigns in 1874 against marauding Indians, Captain Wyllys Lyman led a wagon train to Camp Supply, Okla., for rations for Gen. Nelson A. Miles' troops on duty in…
View on map ↗(12.2 mi. east) First post office in Hemphill County. Unique for tunnel from dugout home-store to corral. On 1870's trail from Ft. Elliott (35 mi. SW) to Ft. Supply, Ind. Terr., to Ft. Dodge, Kans. Established by A. G.…
View on map ↗(Sept. 13, 1849 - Nov. 24, 1894) Came to Canadian about 1884. Was foreman on PO Ranch prior to election as first sheriff of Hemphill County, 1887 - year city of Canadian was founded. Nov. 23, 1894, in gun fight with 6…
View on map ↗A landmark for pioneers on military and stage road nearby, 1870-1890. Over a century old, tree measures 21 feet around. (1969)
View on map ↗During the mass slaughter of buffaloes in the Panhandle, two trails arose to meet the needs of the hunters and their ever-hungry markets. Started about 1876, both moved vast convoys of wagons across the plains. Charles…
View on map ↗Forerunner of town of Canadian. Sprang up, 1886, as a tent city for railroad gang working on Southern Kansas line. Named for poor appearance-- like a hogpen. After landowner Sam Pollard and railroad disputed price for…
View on map ↗(1874 - 1890) One of earliest known Texas Panhandle trails. Flint-pierced mastodon bones show prehistoric men trailed this valley before Indians were here. In 1875, U.S. Army came this way to Fort Elliott, at Mobeetie…
View on map ↗This overland route, blazed in 1849 by energetic and efficient Army Captain R. B. Marcy, was best known as part of the California gold trail. Starting in Oklahoma, Marcy led an expedition across the Texas Panhandle and…
View on map ↗Successor to first bank in Texas Panhandle: the Traders' Bank at Canadian, organized by Henry Hamburg and Robert Moody on August 1, 1887. In 1892 Moody and D. J. Young, his son-in-law, established the Canadian Valley…
View on map ↗(Site 3 miles northwest) A rest stop in the 1870s and 80s on military and stage line. Serviced wagon trains, buffalo hide caravans, and cattle herds. Was also mail pick-up station. Former buffalo hunter-scout Ed…
View on map ↗Built in 1890, first permanent public building in both town of Canadian and Hemphill County. Erected under administration of E. E. Polly, first county judge. Ironically, deception plagued construction of this jail, as…
View on map ↗This building, now a residence, was Canadian's first hospital, opened on June 16, 1917. Funds for construction were obtained by public subscription. Dr. H. C. Caylor, first owner, sold to Dr. L. V. Dawson in 1920. From…
View on map ↗In 1910 Canadian was a thriving railroad and marketing center with a Baptist Academy. English-born Robert Moody (1838-1915), a rancher, banker and trustee of the academy, decided to build a hotel that would reflect the…
View on map ↗Prominent area rancher Thomas Stanley Jones, a native of Wales, had this home built in 1910 for his wife, Rosalie (Whaley), and their children. Designed by Amarillo architect E. Wellington, it was the first brick…
View on map ↗This church was organized by seven women in 1894 with the help of the Rev. Hatcher, a Baptist minister from Amarillo. Shortly thereafter, about 32 people, converted at a local revival held by the Rev. Abe Mulkey, joined…
View on map ↗Also known as Prairie Dell Cemetery, this burial ground has served eastern Hemphill county since 1895, when Dora Calhoun, an infant, was interred here. George W. Little, a landowner in the then-thriving Eller Flat…
View on map ↗The Cataline community predates Hemphill County’s organization. Families moving to this area established the county’s first school (1885) and church (1887). A post office opened in Feb. 1887, five months before the…
View on map ↗This community burial ground is the primary remaining historic evidence of the Washita community. Anglo pioneers began to settle the area in the late 1870s and early 1880s. As the community grew, members established a…
View on map ↗Thomas T. McGee, the first Sheriff of the town of Canadian, was buried in 1894 on a hill on the east side of town. There were already grave markers there dating back to 1883. McGee’s widow, Mary, purchased the land and…
View on map ↗With settlers moving into the area around 1900, the community of Gageby began to grow with a school and other services. In 1944, Mr. C.G. Barker and his wife, Sarah A. Barker, donated three acres for a community…
View on map ↗RoadHistorical maps all 15,000+ Texas historical markers and alerts you as you pass them. Free to download.
Keep exploring