Randall County, Texas
Canyon is home to 49 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 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 battle at the head of his brigade.…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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.…
View on map ↗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.…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗Ranchman's headquarters in town; slept in bedroll in his wagon or in room above the office. Cooked over campfire in yard. Overnight charges: .10 cents a horse; .50 cents a man. Feed and coal were sold, water was free.…
View on map ↗Native Texan, Civil War veteran (1861-65); settled here in 1887. Was first to farm area successfully. Was elected first clerk when county organized 1889. Also, helped organize first Sunday School, 1890. Married Susan…
View on map ↗Built 1904; mantel pieces for 4 fireplaces, 2 marble lavatories bought in Kansas City, Mo. Site of political, social, church gatherings. Lester - buffalo hunter and cattleman - settled here, 1889; opened first bank,…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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,…
View on map ↗Site surveyed Christmas Day, 1887, by L. G. Conner, who also donated land for numerous civic improvements. Named for the colorful Palo Duro Canyon, 12 miles east. Despite a harsh environment characterized by snow,…
View on map ↗Organized Jan. 5, 1900, by L. T. Lester, S. F. Sullenberger, and 19 others. First bank in region immediately south of Amarillo. Was vital factor in developing city and county. Was involved continuously with civic…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗Earliest religious service in Canyon was in 1889. Leaders were the Rev. Jerome Harelson and Isaac Mills, of Panhandle District, Methodist Church, the Rev. B. F. Jackson organized this (city's first) church in Oct. 1889.…
View on map ↗Celebrated annually in Canyon 1900-1910, these reunions were a focal point of social life. Each summer several thousand people arrived by horseback, train, buckboard, and covered wagon. Here they pitched tents and built…
View on map ↗Organized Dec. 21, 1890, with seven charter members: Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Conner, a Mr. and Mrs. Ingram, Mr. and Mrs. L. J. Pirtle, Mrs. F. M. Pope. First pastor was The Rev. Whatley. Congregation built Canyon's first…
View on map ↗In 1932 the State of Texas matched $25,000 of private funds to construct the original unit. Since 1935 the museum, through Works Progress Administration projects, has increased its archeological and paleontological…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗Built in 1909 by Thomas P. Turk, this home was originally located at 402 Palo Duro Street. After the establishment of West Texas University in 1910, it was moved here to serve as a residence for faculty and students.…
View on map ↗Constructed in 1926 for Canyon's growing Presbyterian congregation, this church building is a fine example of classical revival architecture. After serving the Presbyterians for 48 years, it was purchased by the First…
View on map ↗The 36th Division of the U.S. Army served with distinction in World War II. When mobilized, Company F of the Division's 142nd Infantry consisted primarily of Randall County soldiers, including ten sets of brothers, as…
View on map ↗In 1900, two years after the Santa Fe Railway extended its tracks from Amarillo to Canyon City, rancher and banker L.T. Lester established the Stockman's National bank; it became First National Bank of Canyon City in…
View on map ↗Renowned artist Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (1887-1986) was born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin to Francis and Ida (Totto) O'Keeffe. The family moved to Virginia, where O'Keeffe and her siblings attended school. She studied art…
View on map ↗The decade after 1865 was a time of transition for the U.S. Many citizens moved west, coming into conflict with Native American tribes living on the Great Plains. Settlers demanded the U.S. Army provide their…
View on map ↗A unique community venture at West Texas State Teachers College during the Great Depression produced an architectural landmark. The project began in 1933 and used student labor, community donations, and state and…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗Originally named Canyon City Cemetery, this burial ground has served the nearby community since early in Canyon's history. In 1891, S.W. Kelley deeded property to Randall County for cemetery use. That same year, the…
View on map ↗Charles Richard Burrow moved to Canyon City in 1899 to work for Eagle Hardware, and by 1919 he was able to buy the business and rename it Burrow Lumber Company. Burrow remained an active business and civic leader until…
View on map ↗Prior to 1909, volunteers used buckets and homemade ladders to fight fires in Canyon and the surrounding area. The city addressed the need for fire protection by organizing a department and choosing 21 men for duty. The…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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 University of Oklahoma prepared Johnson for…
View on map ↗Canyon City Episcopalians began holding worship services in 1910. By 1928, plans were drawn for construction of a student center to meet the needs of a growing church congregation and student population at West Texas…
View on map ↗Iowa natives Grace Winkleman (1890-1973) and Clyde Warwick (1885-1957) came to Canyon City in 1908 and 1910, respectively, marrying in 1911. Clyde was editor of The Canyon News for 45 years, receiving state and national…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗In the midst of the Great Depression, a group of Amarillo businessmen combined resources and purchased for donation 320 acres of Henry Clay Harding’s Ranch. Located in the upper reaches of Palo Duro Canyon, the acreage…
View on map ↗As a small community west of Amarillo, the city of Canyon worked for years to bring a hospital to its citizens. Previous bond elections to fund a public hospital had failed, and the need for quality health care…
View on map ↗southwest corner of 5th Ave. and 20th St. in Canyon, TX
View on map ↗(July 5, 1901 - October 9, 1995) A noted historian, writer and public figure in Texas during the early 20th century, J. Evetts Haley was born in Belton (Bell County). He grew up in Midland, working on area ranches and…
View on map ↗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,…
View on map ↗(November 20, 1904 - December 1, 1977) Bessie Lucille Parker was born in Arkansas to Thomas M. Parker and Jessie (Lay) Parker. The family moved to Texas and in 1924, Lucille married George E. Nance (1896-1954), a…
View on map ↗marker pending
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