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Canadian, Texas

Everything Canadian is known for

5 songs mention this city

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Music in Canadian

Songs About Canadian

canadian river waltx
R.W. Hampton
83%
canadian, texas
david hanners
83%
Canadian; Texas
David Hanners
71%
Texas Oil Field
Woody Guthrie
6%
"and Canadian"
Cross Canadian Ragweed band
cwrc
3%
"TITLE: Cross Canadian Ragweed band"

Artists From Canadian

No artists from Canadian in the database yet.

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Rivers & Roads in Song near Canadian

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Canadian.

Canadian River 7 songs

Musical Heritage

Woody Guthrie's Panhandle Years RoadyGoat

1929

U.S. Highway Sixty across the Texas Panhandle is the Woody Guthrie Memorial Highway, named for the Oklahoma born folk singer who spent seven years in the Panhandle. Oil was discovered around Pampa in nineteen twenty five, and the Guthrie family moved to the boomtown in nineteen twenty nine, when Woody was seventeen. He worked the soda fountain at the Harris drugstore, and in his autobiography he said he found his first guitar in the back room. His Uncle Jeff taught him to play. He quit school in his senior year, did odd jobs like sign painting, and played local clubs and radio stations for tips. In nineteen thirty three he married Mary Jennings, a Pampa girl and the sister of a bandmate. Then the fields of the Panhandle slipped into the Dust Bowl, and Guthrie left for California. For a long time, most folks around Pampa did not care to mention him. A Pampa grandmother changed that after reading a Guthrie biography. Her nonprofit, Pampa's Tribute to Woody Guthrie, bought the old drugstore building and turned it into the Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center, and her group got Highway Sixty across the Panhandle designated in his name. Guthrie died in nineteen sixty seven.

RoadyGoat → · 10.8 mi away

History of Canadian

The Bridge Two Floods Couldn't Beat RoadyGoat

Two bridges stood at this crossing before this one, in 1888 and 1889, and the river took both of them out in floods. So in 1915 voters approved something sturdier, and by 1916 the Canton Bridge Company had it built: seventeen steel spans, pin-connected the way trusses were built before welding took over, each one 155 feet long and 27 feet high, resting on concrete piers with steel footings driven 65 feet into the riverbed. Total length, 2,635 feet. Then in 1923 high water widened the river channel again, so the county brought in the Austin Bridge Company to add four more matching spans, stretching the whole bridge to 3,255 feet. That made it the longest pin-connected bridge in Texas, and it held the title of the state's longest metal truss bridge until the Rainbow Bridge went up between Orange and Port Arthur in 1938. Cars don't cross it anymore -- it's a pedestrian bridge now -- but the steel is the same steel from over a century ago.

RoadyGoat →

The First Rodeo in Texas RoadyGoat

Right here in Canadian, on the Fourth of July, eighteen eighty-eight, a piece of Texas identity took root. A group of cowboys from the Laurel Leaf Ranch, which spread across the country just east of town, had an idea. This was one of the big English and Scottish-owned outfits of the Panhandle, run by the Texas Land and Cattle Company out of Dundee, Scotland, and it carried the Laurel Leaf and Horseshoe brands. These were working cowboys, and they wanted a chance to show what they could do. So they organized a public contest, with steer roping as the main event, and folded it into the town's annual Cowboys' Reunion. Word spread, and folks from town came out to watch these hands prove their mettle against the clock and the livestock. That gritty, hometown competition grew into one of the very first commercial rodeos in all of Texas. Canadian can't claim to be the birthplace of the sport, that honor goes to Pecos and its Fourth of July contest back in eighteen eighty-three, but this dusty little town near the river helped write the earliest chapters of Texas rodeo, and it's been a rodeo town ever since.

RoadyGoat →

Temple Houston: The Flamboyant Frontier Lawyer RoadyGoat

Imagine the old Hemphill County Courthouse in the 1890s. A trial is underway, and the defense attorney is Temple Lea Houston, son of Texas icon Sam Houston. He really did practice here in Canadian, taking cases and doing legal work for the Santa Fe Railway. He stood before juries not in a plain suit but in flamboyant frontier dress, auburn hair down to his shoulders, a pearl-handled Colt he called 'Old Betsy' on his hip. Houston was a legal genius known for theatrical style and poetic arguments. His most famous case came after he moved north to Woodward in Oklahoma Territory: in 1899 he defended Minnie Stacey, a woman charged with prostitution, and his 'Soiled Dove Plea' won her acquittal in about ten minutes. He was a character straight out of a novel — a brilliant orator, a dead shot, a state senator — all before his death at forty-five in 1905. He is buried up in Woodward, not here, but Canadian is one of the towns where folks actually watched him work.

RoadyGoat →

McGee, Thomas T.

1887

Thomas T. McGee, first sheriff of Hemphill County, was born on September 13, 1849, in West Virginia. In 1877, after working as a cowboy for a time in Colorado, he accompanied Henry W. (Hank) Cresswell 's Bar CC herd to its new location in Ochiltree County. He was listed as a resident of Roberts County in the 1880 census. Later he worked for the Moody-Andrews Cattle Company ( PO Ranch ) and helped drive herds to Dodge City for several ranches, including Nick T. Eaton 's U Bar U. In December 1883 he registered his own Quarter Circle C brand at Mobeetie. About 1886 he bought William Young's interest in the PO Ranch and became foreman of it. During his tenure as foreman McGee was elected the first sheriff of Hemphill County when the county was organized in 1887. With his deputy sheriff, Vastine Stickley, as a partner, McGee operated a wagonyard and livery stable in the town of Canadian until 1893. On June 5, 1889, he married Mary Blandy Taylor at the home of her uncle, George T. Lynn, in Kansas City. In the fall of 1894 George Isaacs sent five envelopes reported to contain a total of $25,000 from Kansas City to his home base in Canadian. After the train pulled into Canadian on the evening of November 24, the money was transferred to the Wells Fargo safe in the railroad station. Moments later gunfire erupted outside the station. Sheriff McGee, who had just stepped out onto the platform, was fatally wounded and died later that night. When the envelopes were opened they were found to contain a total of only $500 in small bills. The obvious scheme of Isaacs to swindle Wells Fargo of thousands of dollars had miscarried. Isaacs was subsequently charged with McGee's murder, convicted in 1895 on a change of venue to Quanah in Hardeman County, and sentenced to life imprisonment at Huntsville. He later was reported to have escaped and fled to Mexico, then to Arizona, although some sources indicate that he was released. Three men accused of being his accomplices-Jim Harbolt, Dan McKenzie, and Tulsa Jack, a member of the Doolin Gang-were later apprehended by deputy marshals and returned for trial to Canadian. After her husband's death, Mary McGee reportedly had difficulty in settling his estate, since he did most of his banking in Kansas City. She served as a nurse's aid in England during World War I and remained there until her death. Her ashes were returned to Canadian for burial beside her husband.

Tsha Handbook →

Studer, Julius Caesar

1888

Julius Caesar Studer, rancher, the son of Ben and Elsie Studer, was born on May 24, 1863, in Kastenholtz, Switzerland. In 1867 the Studers immigrated to America and settled in a Swiss colony near Tracy City, Tennessee. There Studer hired out as a farmhand at the age of ten, and at thirteen he apprenticed himself to a carriage maker in Grundy County. In 1885, shortly before his nineteenth birthday, he moved to Kiowa, Kansas, where he worked as a railroad machinist and blacksmith. The following year, after learning that the Southern Kansas (Panhandle and Santa Fe) Railway was to be built through that area, he filed on a 640-acre claim in Lipscomb County, Texas. Studer sold this claim in 1887 and moved to the new rail town of Canadian, where he opened a blacksmith shop. There he manufactured gun parts, bridle bits, and spurs and also purchased a livery stable and feed store. In addition, he bought eight sections of ranchland northeast of town from Sam Pollard and became the first rancher to place registered bulls, which he imported from Burlingame, Kansas, with his entire herd of range cattle. For a brand, Studer used the Anvil, after the symbol of his trade. On July 4, 1888, his Anvil Park Ranch became the first site of the annual Texas Cowboy Reunion , one of America's oldest professional rodeos. Studer married Ella Gallaher, sister of Fort Worth rancher Will Gallaher, on June 28, 1890. They had five sons and a daughter; their second son, Floyd V. Studer , became famous as an amateur archeologist. At various times J. C. Studer was engaged in the operation of a packing plant, meat market, feedstore, and lumberyard. He furnished the lumber for building the towns of Briscoe and Allison, supplied meat for Miami and Pampa, and operated the ice plant in Canadian for fifteen years. In 1912 he established a new market and bakery and reorganized his ranching enterprise as J. C. Studer and Sons. When asked why he had so many different kinds of businesses, he replied, "I have so many different kinds of sons." For over twenty years the Studers themselves provided the stock and managed the annual rodeo at Anvil Park Ranch. In 1915 Studer retired from management of his various businesses to devote full time to his ranch, but he again took over briefly in 1917–18, when his sons entered the service in World War I . Afterward, he continued breeding Herefords and managing his ranch for the remainder of his life. He was a founder and charter member of the Panhandle and Southwest Livestock Association, which later merged with the Cattle Raisers Association of Texas. Studer was also active in community and church work, and bought and sold several town lots in Canadian. In 1950 he sold 5,000 acres of the Anvil Park Ranch to the Texas Game and Fish Commission for the Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area. Studer died in 1953 at the age of ninety and was buried in Canadian.

Tsha Handbook →

W. C. T. U. Building

1902

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 library and civic groups. Determined to abolish liquor by local option election, the chapter organized in 1902. Won first election a year later. Meetings have been held every Wednesday since founding. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965

Historical Marker →

Tom T. McGee

1887

(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 men attacking large shipment of money at Wells, Fargo & Co., he was mortally wounded, and he died the next day. His widow went to England as a volunteer civilian worker in World War I; died there. Ashes were returned here for burial. Recorded - 1967

Historical Marker →

Robert R. Young

1897

(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 traildriver, pioneer rancher; his father, president of the first bank in Canadian. Educated at Old Canadian Academy, Culver Military Academy (where he won highest honors), University of Virginia. Married, 1916, Anita O'Keeffe, sister of the famous painter Georgia O'Keeffe. Had a daughter. One of close friends was King Edward VIII of England. Assistant to treasurer of General Motors, 1920s. Made fortune in stock market in 1929. After years on Wall Street, won acclaim of financial world in a proxy battle to gain control of and modernize New York Central Railroad. In this fight, enlisted aid of Texas friends Clint Murchison and Sid Richardson. Until 1939, retained banking interests in Canadian. Was a lifelong member of Presbyterian church here. Remembered native state with gifts of rare papers to University of Texas. Restored an historic local burial ground, naming it "Edith Ford Cemetery," to honor an aunt who reared him after early death of his mother. Maintained close ties (in visits, hunting trips, correspondence) with people known in boyhood. (1967)

Historical Marker →

Canadian, TX

1887

Canadian, on U.S. highways 60 and 83 in western Hemphill County, has been the county seat since its founding in 1887. In the spring of that year E. P. Purcell and O. H. Nelson, who headed the Kansas Railway Townsite Company, laid out the 240-acre townsite, which is on the south bank of the Canadian River near its junction with Red Deer Creek. By summer the Southern Kansas Railway had completed a bridge across the river from the settlement of Clear Creek, or Hogtown. As a result, residents of Hogtown moved their homes and businesses to Canadian. Soon the temporary tent city gave way to more permanent structures, as the townsite company's advertisements attracted more prospective settlers and businesses. Nelson Peet established the first hotel, the Log Cabin, and a post office was opened in August. On July 4, 1888, Canadian's reputation as a rodeo ( see RODEOS ) town began when the annual Cowboys' Reunion staged a commercial rodeo, one of the first in Texas. The event has been an annual custom ever since. Baptists, Methodists, the Christian Church, the Church of Christ, and other Christian communions soon established churches in Canadian. By 1900 the incorporated town was a major shipping center with railroad division headquarters and roundhouses, cotton gins, elevators, banks, a public school, and a private academy, as well as various stores and other small businesses. Canadian also had as many as thirteen saloons before the county voted to go dry in 1903. Since then, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union has had an active chapter in Canadian; the old WCTU building also houses the city library. Canadian has had seven newspapers: the Free Press (1887-88), the Crescent (1888-93), the Record (1893-), the Enterprise (1891-1912), the Advertiser (which later became the Hemphill County News , 1938-71), the Sand Burr (1933-49), and the short-lived Monday Morning News (1916). Among the prominent businessmen and civic leaders, some of whose descendants still make Canadian their home, were George and John J. Gerlach , Harvey E. Hoover , Edward H. Brainard , and Nahim Abraham , who immigrated from Lebanon. Temple Lea Houston lived for a time in Canadian, as did the colorful rancher and lawman George W. Arrington . In the early 1950s Canadian lost its railroad roundhouses and division headquarters as a result of reorganization by the Santa Fe. Nevertheless, it continued to thrive on ranching and farming, as well as oil and gas production. The population increased from 2,671 in 1950 to 3,491 in 1980. In 1990 it was 2,417, and in 2000 it was 2,233. In addition to the annual rodeo, the annual Midsummer Music Festival in August and the Autumn Foliage Tour in October attract visitors. The River Valley Pioneer Museum is in Canadian. Lake Marvin and the Gene Howe Wildlife Management area are located east of town.

Tsha Handbook →

Things to Do in Canadian

historical 0.3 mi away
The Battle of Adobe Walls

In 1874 twenty-eight buffalo hunters held off seven hundred Comanche and Kiowa warriors near Canadian. A young Quanah Parker led the charge but Billy Dixon…
historical 0.2 mi away
The Fourth of July Rodeo Since 1888

Canadian has held a Fourth of July rodeo every year since 1888 making it one of the oldest continuous rodeos in Texas. Cowboys were roping and riding here…
quirky 0.3 mi away
The Pronghorn Highway

The grasslands around Canadian host one of the densest pronghorn antelope populations in Texas. Drive the highways at dawn and you will see hundreds of them…
historical 0.3 mi away
The Last Stop Before No Man's Land

Before barbed wire Canadian was the last supply stop on the Western Trail before cattle herds crossed into Indian Territory. Drovers would stock up on whiskey…
historical 0.3 mi away
The Canadian River Wagon Bridge

When Canadian built its wagon bridge across the river in 1916 it was the longest bridge in Texas at nearly half a mile. Cowboys and cattle had drowned for…
quirky 8.2 mi away
The Panhandle's Secret Fall Colors

Every October Canadian turns into something nobody expects in the Texas Panhandle -- a fall foliage destination. The Canadian River breaks carved cottonwood…
quirky 0.2 mi away
The Tiny Town With a River Walk

Canadian built itself a proper river walk along the Canadian River that would make San Antonio blush for a town this small. Walking trails wind through…
quirky 0.2 mi away
The Wildflower Capital Nobody Knows

The river breaks around Canadian explode with wildflowers every spring in colors that rival the Hill Country. Indian paintbrush and bluebonnets carpet the…
day trip
BIG BALLS in this Cowtown - Canadian, TX. 🐄 Eating Calf Fries!

Featured on The Daytripper — a full-episode local travel guide.

Sports in Canadian

🏆 STATE CHAMPIONS Class 3A · Football · 2020

Canadian Wildcats — 2020 UIL 3A Division 2 Football State Champions

Most recent: 35-34 over Franklin · 2020 3A Division 2 final

In the Texas Panhandle, Canadian High School stands as a beacon for Class 3A football. The Wildcats have established a reputation for competitive play within their division, drawing support from across the community. Their consistent presence in the state playoffs reflects a program dedicated to athletic excellence year after year.

The pinnacle of their achievements came in 2020 when Canadian High School secured the 3A Division 2 state championship. This significant victory underscores the team's hard work and the vibrant sports culture in Canadian, Texas, where high school football is a cherished local tradition.

State titles
2020
Most recent
2020, 35-34
Class
3A
The moment

In 2020, Canadian High School won the 3A Division 2 state championship by defeating Franklin 35-34.

Sources: UIL State Championship Archives · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)
🏆 STATE CHAMPIONS Class 3A · Girls Basketball · 2017

Canadian Wildcats — 2017 UIL 3A Girls Basketball State Champions

Most recent: 2017 3A

In the heart of the Texas Panhandle, Canadian High School stands as a point of pride for its community, particularly when it comes to girls' basketball. Competing in Class 3A, the Lady Cats have established a strong presence on the court, reflecting the dedication and spirit found in this part of the state.

The program reached its pinnacle in 2017, securing a UIL Class 3A State Championship. This achievement highlights a period of significant success for Canadian's girls' basketball, bringing state-level recognition back to the home of the Wildcats.

State titles
2017
Most recent
2017
Class
3A
The moment

The 2017 UIL Class 3A State Championship marked a significant high point for Canadian High School girls' basketball.

Sources: UIL State Championship Archives · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)

Everything Near Canadian

81 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

  • McGee, Thomas T. · Tsha Handbook

    Thomas T. McGee, first sheriff of Hemphill County, was born on September 13, 1849, in West Virginia. In 1877, after working as a cowboy for a time in Colorado, he accompanied Henry W. (Hank) Cresswell 's Bar CC herd to…

  • Studer, Julius Caesar · Tsha Handbook

    Julius Caesar Studer, rancher, the son of Ben and Elsie Studer, was born on May 24, 1863, in Kastenholtz, Switzerland. In 1867 the Studers immigrated to America and settled in a Swiss colony near Tracy City, Tennessee.…

  • Canadian, TX · Tsha Handbook

    Canadian, on U.S. highways 60 and 83 in western Hemphill County, has been the county seat since its founding in 1887. In the spring of that year E. P. Purcell and O. H. Nelson, who headed the Kansas Railway Townsite…

  • Gerlach, George · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Canadian, Texas, the heart of Hemphill County. Back in the 1880s, this area was just open range, and a key stop for freighters on the Jones and Plummer Trail. That's where brothers George and John…

  • Hopkins, William Harlen · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hemphill County, not far from the town of Canadian. Right here, back in 1878, William "Bee" Hopkins helped drive cattle to start the PO Ranch. He became foreman of the Horseshoe Ranch, later the…

  • Isaacs Brothers · Tsha Handbook

    Right here in the Panhandle, you're driving through the heart of cattle country, and the Isaacs brothers were pioneers of this very landscape. Sam Isaacs learned the ranching trade in the 1870s, working his way up from…

  • Moody, Robert · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hemphill County, Texas, and right here in Canadian, you're in the heart of Robert Moody's Panhandle empire. Moody, an Englishman by birth, arrived in 1879, buying into the PO Ranch. He survived…

  • PO Ranch · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here is the territory of the historic PO Ranch. Established in 1878 by brothers Milton and Hammond Pollard, it was one of the first major cattle operations in this…

  • Studer, Floyd V. · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and right here near Canadian, a local businessman named Floyd V. Studer turned a childhood discovery into a lifelong passion. After unearthing a mastodon tooth as a kid, he…

  • Young, Robert Ralph · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Canadian, Texas, the hometown of Robert "Railroad" Young. Born here in 1897, Young would go on to become a titan of Wall Street and the railroad industry. He got his start in finance at DuPont,…

  • Mary B. Isaacs · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Canadian, where Mary B. Isaacs arrived in 1888, Hemphill County's very first public school teacher. Imagine her students reciting lessons while Native Americans peered through the windows! She…

  • Abraham, Nahim · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Canadian, Texas, a town that owes much of its early prosperity to a Lebanese immigrant named Nahim Abraham. He arrived in America in 1901, eventually settling here in 1913 after working as a…

Show all 81 nearby places
  • Brainard, Edward Henry · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Roberts County, Texas, where Edward Henry Brainard arrived in the late 1800s, drawn by the promise of the Panhandle cattle industry. He started out working for various ranches, eventually becoming…

  • Frye, Henry · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, a land shaped by tough pioneers like Henry Frye. Born in Virginia in 1851, Frye headed west at twenty-one, working the Chisholm Trail. He met and married Lula Miller in 1877,…

  • Baker, Benjamin M. · Tsha Handbook

    Benjamin M. Baker, the seventh of ten children of Benjamin H. and Eliza (Greer) Baker, was born on January 20, 1850, in Russell County, Alabama. His father was a member of the Alabama Secession Convention in 1861 and…

  • Gerlach, John J. · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hemphill County, and right here, John J. Gerlach arrived in the Texas Panhandle back in 1883. He set up a dugout on Horse Creek, and soon after, he and his brother opened a road ranch and store.…

  • 2020 UIL 3A Division 2 Football State Champions · 0.1 mi

    Canadian High School (Canadian, TX): Most recent: 35-34 over Franklin · 2020 3A Division 2 final.

  • W. C. T. U. Building · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    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…

  • The Fourth of July Rodeo Since 1888 · 0.2 mi · Things to Do

    Canadian has held a Fourth of July rodeo every year since 1888 making it one of the oldest continuous rodeos in Texas. Cowboys were roping and riding here…

  • Canadian - Prettiest Town in the Panhandle · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    Canadian sits on the high banks of the Canadian River in the northeastern Panhandle, and it looks nothing like what most people picture when they think of this part of Texas. Instead of flat and treeless, Canadian is…

  • Hemphill County Jail · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Hemphill County Jail, built way back in 1890. It was the very first permanent public building in Canadian and Hemphill County. Interestingly, its construction was dogged by fraud, leading to a…

  • Hemphill, John · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Texas history, past the marker for John Hemphill. On the eve of secession in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1861</say-as>, he was a U.S. Senator who presented Texas's right to secede. He…

  • Jones Mansion · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Jones Mansion, built in 1910 for a prominent Welsh rancher and his family. Designed by Amarillo architect E. Wellington, this Classical Revival home was the very first brick residence constructed…

  • R. Dick Bussell · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Canadian, home of R. Dick Bussell, a legendary hunter and one of the first men to hunt buffalo commercially in the 1870s. He came to Texas in 1874, helped survey this townsite in 1887, and became…

  • The Wildflower Capital Nobody Knows · 0.2 mi · Things to Do

    The river breaks around Canadian explode with wildflowers every spring in colors that rival the Hill Country. Indian paintbrush and bluebonnets carpet the…

  • The Tiny Town With a River Walk · 0.2 mi · Things to Do

    Canadian built itself a proper river walk along the Canadian River that would make San Antonio blush for a town this small. Walking trails wind through…

  • First Church Bell · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Canadian, where you can imagine the excitement when this very bell arrived in 1890. It was the first church bell in Hemphill County, ringing out for the old Presbyterian Church and even serving…

  • First Baptist Church of Canadian · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the First Baptist Church of Canadian. Organized in 1894 by seven women, the congregation grew with help from a revival led by the Rev. Abe Mulkey. Early services were held in various…

  • The Battle of Adobe Walls · 0.3 mi · Things to Do

    In 1874 twenty-eight buffalo hunters held off seven hundred Comanche and Kiowa warriors near Canadian. A young Quanah Parker led the charge but Billy Dixon…

  • The Canadian River Wagon Bridge · 0.3 mi · Things to Do

    When Canadian built its wagon bridge across the river in 1916 it was the longest bridge in Texas at nearly half a mile. Cowboys and cattle had drowned for…

  • The Pronghorn Highway · 0.3 mi · Things to Do

    The grasslands around Canadian host one of the densest pronghorn antelope populations in Texas. Drive the highways at dawn and you will see hundreds of them…

  • The Last Stop Before No Man's Land · 0.3 mi · Things to Do

    Before barbed wire Canadian was the last supply stop on the Western Trail before cattle herds crossed into Indian Territory. Drovers would stock up on whiskey…

  • The Jewel of the Plains Courthouse · 0.3 mi · Things to Do

    Hemphill County built its courthouse in Canadian from native stone in 1909 and the thing still stands proud on the hill like a little cathedral on the prairie.…

  • Moody Hotel · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Canadian, and right here is the site of the historic Moody Hotel. Back in 1910, this town was booming thanks to the railroad. Local rancher and banker Robert Moody wanted a hotel to match that…

  • The Former Canadian Hospital · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Canadian, and just ahead is a building that served this town as its very first hospital. Opened on June 16, 1917, its construction was funded by the community. Over the years, doctors like H. C.…

  • First National Bank of Canadian · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Canadian, and right here is the site of the First National Bank. This wasn't just any bank; it was the successor to the very first bank in the Texas Panhandle. That was the Traders' Bank, started…

  • The Town Hollywood Keeps Finding · 0.5 mi · Things to Do

    Canadian has shown up in more films than any Panhandle town its size. The wide streets and preserved storefronts keep attracting film scouts looking for…

  • Edith Ford Memorial Cemetery · 0.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Edith Ford Memorial Cemetery, a resting place with roots stretching back to 1883. It started as a simple burial site for Thomas T. McGee, the first sheriff of Canadian, who was laid to rest here…

  • Tom T. McGee · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker

    (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…

  • Robert R. Young · 1.0 mi · Historical Marker

    (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…

  • Canadian River Trails · 1.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving along the Canadian River, a route that's been a highway for centuries. Way back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1541</say-as>, the Spanish explorer Coronado traveled these banks, searching for…

  • Hemphill County · 1.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hemphill County, established in 1876 and organized in 1886. It's named for John Hemphill, a true Texas legal and political giant. Hemphill served as the first Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme…

  • The Bridge Two Floods Couldn't Beat · 2.0 mi

    Two bridges stood at this crossing before this one, in 1888 and 1889, and the river took both of them out in floods. So in 1915 voters approved something sturdier, and by 1916 the Canton Bridge Company had it built:…

  • Site of Old Springer's Road Ranch · 2.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hemphill County, heading towards the site of Old Springer's Road Ranch. This wasn't just any stop; it was the first post office in the county and a vital stagecoach stand on the trail connecting…

  • Former Site of Hogtown · 2.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the former site of Hogtown, a place that earned its name for all the wrong reasons. It started in 1886 as a rough tent city for railroad workers. Folks called it Hogtown because it looked like a…

  • The First Rodeo in Texas · 2.3 mi

    Right here in Canadian, on the Fourth of July, eighteen eighty-eight, a piece of Texas identity took root. A group of cowboys from the Laurel Leaf Ranch, which spread across the country just east of town, had an idea.…

  • Temple Houston: The Flamboyant Frontier Lawyer · 2.3 mi

    Imagine the old Hemphill County Courthouse in the 1890s. A trial is underway, and the defense attorney is Temple Lea Houston, son of Texas icon Sam Houston. He really did practice here in Canadian, taking cases and…

  • The Day the Prairie Burned · 2.3 mi

    As you drive through the rolling plains around Canadian, look at the grasslands. In March of 2017 this landscape became the scene of some of the largest wildfires in recent Texas history. The science behind it was a…

  • Canadian, TX · 2.3 mi

    In February 2024, Canadian was significantly affected by the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which charred some of the town and covered an area of 1,058,482 acres. Despite the widespread damage, no fatalities were reported…

  • The Ghost of the Moody Hotel · 2.3 mi

    As you come through downtown Canadian, look for the three-story brick building on the corner of Second and Main. That's the Moody, put up in 1910 by Robert Moody, an English-born rancher and banker, on the site of the…

  • Anvil Park Ranch · 4.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hemphill County, past the site of the Anvil Park Ranch. It all started in 1891 when blacksmith J. C. Studer, who’d arrived from Kansas just five years earlier, decided to name his spread after his…

  • Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area · 5.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area, a massive 6,000-acre preserve dedicated to game management. Named for Eugene A. Howe, a dedicated conservationist and longtime member of the Texas Game and…

  • Historic Trails · 6.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, an area that was once the scene of a massive buffalo slaughter. Around <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1876</say-as>, two important trails emerged to serve the hunters…

  • Route of Marcy Trail · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hemphill County, following a route blazed way back in 1849 by Captain R. B. Marcy. This wasn't just some dusty trail; it became a key part of the California gold rush route! Marcy led an…

  • The Panhandle's Secret Fall Colors · 8.2 mi · Things to Do

    Every October Canadian turns into something nobody expects in the Texas Panhandle -- a fall foliage destination. The Canadian River breaks carved cottonwood…

  • Battle of Adobe Walls · 8.7 mi · Historical Marker

    At dawn on June 27, 1874, roughly 700 Comanche, Kiowa, and Cheyenne warriors rode down on a cluster of sod buildings at Adobe Walls, a remote buffalo hunting camp in the Texas Panhandle. Inside were 28 hunters and one…

  • Buffalo Wallow Fight · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hemphill County, Texas, and right here, on September 12, 1874, a desperate fight unfolded. Six men, running low on supplies and carrying dispatches, found themselves surrounded by over 125…

  • Chapman, Amos · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hemphill County right now, near where one of the wildest fights of the frontier era took place. It was September 1874, and Amos Chapman, a frontiersman of mixed White and Indian heritage, was…

  • Springer Ranch · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hemphill County, and right here is where the Springer Ranch once stood. It was the first ranch in the Panhandle, established in 1875 by Jim Springer. He built a dugout that served as a store,…

  • Springer, A. G. [Jim] · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, right near where the Canadian River flows. Back in 1874, A. G. Jim Springer arrived and built a trading post for buffalo hunters. He was the very first permanent rancher in…

  • Tehan · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the wild Panhandle frontier, and right here, in what is now Hemphill County, a young man known as Tehan was captured. He wasn't born Kiowa, but was taken by them as a child, grew up…

  • Hemphill County · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hemphill County, right on the edge of the Texas Panhandle. This land was once the domain of the Comanche and Kiowa, but by the 1870s, the era of open-range ranching was beginning. The Jones and…

  • Clear Creek, TX (Hemphill County) · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Clear Creek, or Hogtown, was Hemphill County's first settlement and the forerunner of the county seat, Canadian. It rose on the north bank of the Canadian River, near its junction with Clear Creek, late in 1886 as a…

  • Texas Land and Cattle Company · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    The Texas Land and Cattle Company, Limited, was a syndicate in Dundee, Scotland, organized to take advantage of the American Southwest's "Beef Bonanza" in the early 1880s. Robert Fleming was among its wealthy British…

  • Laurel Leaf Ranch · 8.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hemphill County, perhaps near Lake Creek or the Canadian River. Right here, back in 1878, the Laurel Leaf Ranch, also known as the Horseshoe Ranch, began its story. Frank Karrick brought the first…

  • Glazier, TX · 9.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Hemphill County, right where Glazier used to be a vital shipping point. It all started in 1887 when the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway arrived, and J.F. Johnson platted a town on his ranchland,…

  • Glazier Cemetery · 10.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Glazier, a town that's seen its share of hardship. Founded in 1887 by the railroad, Glazier became a vital shipping point for local cattle. But this town faced disaster more than once. In 1916, a…

  • Woody Guthrie's Panhandle Years · 10.8 mi

    U.S. Highway Sixty across the Texas Panhandle is the Woody Guthrie Memorial Highway, named for the Oklahoma born folk singer who spent seven years in the Panhandle. Oil was discovered around Pampa in nineteen twenty…

  • 133 Yards East to Site of Historic Cottonwood · 11.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and just about 133 yards east of here, stood a giant. This Cottonwood tree was a major landmark for pioneers traveling this way between 1870 and 1890. It was a crucial…

  • Old Military Road · 11.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the Canadian River Valley, a place that's seen travelers for thousands of years. Look around – this valley was a trail even before recorded history, evidenced by ancient flint-pierced mastodon…

  • Site of Lyman's Wagon Train Battle · 12.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the Texas Panhandle, and just a few miles off the road to your south and east lies the site of one of the longest Indian battles in this region's history. It was September of 1874. Captain Wyllys…

  • Gen. Nelson Miles Expedition (Headquarters Dugout) · 12.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hemphill County, near where General Nelson Miles and his troops set up a dugout headquarters back in 1874. They were here as part of a big U.S. Army operation to stop Indian raids. Their mission…

  • Battle of Lyman's Wagon Train · 15.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Right here, on these windswept plains, a desperate battle for survival played out. In September 1874, Captain Wyllys Lyman led a wagon train toward Camp Supply. They were ambushed by a large force of Comanche and Kiowa…

  • Washita Cemetery · 15.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through the historic Washita community, and just off to the side is its cemetery. This burial ground is the main reminder of Washita, a community that started with Anglo pioneers in the late 1870s and…

  • Fossil Beds · 15.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Roberts County, not far from the C. C. Coffee Ranch. Back in 1928, geologists stumbled upon one of the most prolific fossil fields of the lower Pliocene age, dating back about 13 million years.…

  • Roberts County · 16.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Roberts County, formed in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1876</say-as> from older territories. It was named for John S. Roberts, a signer of the Texas Declaration, and Governor Oran Milo…

  • Fletcher and Donley Stage Station · 16.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hemphill County, not far from where a vital stop on the frontier once stood. This was Fletcher and Donley Stage Station, a crucial rest stop in the 1870s and 80s. Imagine wagon trains, buffalo…

  • Notla Community · 18.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Ochiltree County, passing the site of what was once the Notla community. Originally called Half-Way, this settlement grew up around a crossroads in 1901, serving early ranchers and travelers. It…

  • Cataline Cemetery · 19.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through what was once the Cataline community, a place that actually predates Hemphill County itself. Families here established the area's first school and church. But this cemetery started with a single,…

  • Gageby Cemetery · 19.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Gageby Cemetery in Canadian. In 1944, C.G. and Sarah Barker donated three acres for this community burial ground. Mr. Barker, the first to be buried here, passed away in January 1945.

  • Miami Cemetery · 19.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Miami Cemetery, the final resting place for many who shaped this Panhandle land. The earliest known burial here is pioneer William T. Lard, who died in 1888. Later, the Cresswell Ranche & Cattle…

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