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CANYON, TEXASHome
of West Texas State, Texas A & M University
Randall County
Seat, Texas
Panhandle
Highways 60, 217, 87, and I-27
14 miles S of Amarillo
107 miles N of Lubbock
20 miles
N of Happy, Texas
Population: 11,365 (1990) 12,875 (2000)Book
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Canyon
Hotels |
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A
Visit to Canyon >
Canyon
Landmarks / Attractions >
A
timeline of Canyon, Texas significant events
>
Randall
County Courthouse
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Canyon
Hotels
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History
in a Pecan Shell
Known as Canyon City until 1911, the town's name was first suggested
by blacksmith A. L. Hammond after Palo Duro Canyon. A man named Lincoln Guy Conner
surveyed the site in late 1887 and platted the town in 1889. Conner refused to
have the town named after himself, a gesture so rare in Texas
that it deserves mention. Conner's dugout home served as the community store and
post office.
With the organization of Randall County in 1889, Canyon
City was chosen county seat. Without a railroad, lumber was freighted in from
Quanah - a bone-jarring 140-mile wagon
trip.
Conner built Canyon City's first hotel - and didn't name it after
himself - choosing instead the "Victoria."
Newspaper publishing in Canyon
City began in 1890. Mastheads bearing the names Echo, Keystone, Headlight,
and Battleship came and went. In 1896 the Stayer was published. The
name was intended to show the publisher's dertermination to stay in business.
It was sold in 1903 - and was renamed the rather bland Canyon City News.
After papers called the Battleship and Headlight - can you blame them? The News
was bought in 1908, renamed the Randall County News. This lasted until
1920 when it was bought again and named the Canyon News. Don't worry, questions
concerning the newspapers of Canyon won't be on the test.
Telephone service
arrived in 1896 and two years later the railroad arrived (the Pecos and Northern
Texas). Once again Mr. Conner strengthened the town by donating land alongside
the railroad where acres of cattle pens were constructed. He didn't name these
after himself either.
The Handbook of Texas saw fit to mention
in their history of Canyon that one W. C. Kenyon ran a wagonyard and seven saloons.
This may be the first documented case in Texas
of a businessman taking parking into consideration for his patrons. |
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L.
T. Lester (Buffalo Hunter & Cattleman) Home historical marker
Photo courtesy
Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
| "First
Baptist Church of Canyon. Construction began in 1929 but was not completed until
after the Depression." - Terry
Jeanson, Sept. 2007 photo |
Canyon
Landmarks / Attractions
Randall County Courthouse
Panhandle-Plains
Historical Museum
One of the better regional museums in the state. The museum building itself (c.1933)
is often featured in architectural guides of Texas for it's decorative and uniquely
Texas details. Big
Tex Randall
- This relic from the golden age of oversized and anatomically incorrect barkers
was built in 1959.Pioneer
Amphitheater -
Information Office - 1514 5th Avenue, Canyon
806-655-2181
or 877-58-TEXAS Buffalo
Lake National Wildlife Refuge - 7,677 acres.
A major waterfowl refuge,
winter haven for ducks and geese.
Headquarter - FM 168, 3 miles south of
UmbargerPalo
Duro Canyon State Park
The Canyon
Chamber of Commerce:
1518 5th Avenue, Canyon, Texas 79015
806-655-7815,
800-999-9481
Website: www.canyonchamber.org
Canyon
Hotels > Book
Your Hotel Here & Save |
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A
timeline of Canyon, Texas significant events:
1902: Telephone exchange
is installed1904:
Population of Canyon City reaches 530
1906: Canyon City incorporates
1907: Santa Fe railroad connects Canyon City to Plainview
- wiping out stagecoach service between the two towns. 1908:
Canyon City gets electricity, an ice plant and a volunteer fire department. 1909:
More infrastructure is installed with a waterworks and sewer system. The brick
courthouse is constructed this same year.1910:
Canyon City is connected to Floydada
with construction of the Santa Fe's Llano Estacado line. West Texas A&M University
- then known as West Texas State Normal College opened on land (once again) donated
by Lincoln Guy Conner. Classes were first held in the county
courthouse. A brick school is built. 1911:
Canyon City officially becomes Canyon.
1915: Canyon's population reaches 1,500 the population was 1,500, and the town
can boast a twenty-five-room hotel (the Palace).1921:
On December the second, the southside of Canyon's town square is destroyed by
fire. Prosperity
continued throughout the 1920s. New infrastructure included paved streets, streetlights,
and natural gas connections. The railroad even built a new depot
and both elementary and high schools received new buildings. A county library
opened in 1927.The
famed Panhandle-Plains
Historical Museum was established in 1932 (expanded in 1985) to preserve the
region's heritage. WPA projects in the 30s built new buildings on the college
campus and a new post office was construct and decorated with a government-funded
mural. 1940:
population reaches 2,622
1950: population reaches 4,349 |
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Canyon,
Texas Forum
Subject:
Waldine Tauch
I read with interest your article on Waldine Tauch and her father. Thank
you for this.
However, I would point out that seven Tauch pieces are
part of our collection, including the original plasters from which the bronzes
were cast for the Texas Ranger, Pippa Passes, Higher Education, and Buckner Group.
Tauch had a special relationship with Panhandle-Plains as she also left twelve
Pompeo Coppini pieces to PPHM as well. You might add Canyon and Burnet
(Buckner Children's Home) to the places one can see her work.
Keep up
the good work about Texas. - Respectfully, Michael R. Grauer, Curator of Ar,t
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas, September 23, 2005 |
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