City of Canyon
Canyon, Randall County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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, sandstorms, and grasshopper plaques, pioneer citizens pushed ahead. The first school, with 6 students, was organized in 1889. First telephone line was built in 1896, using barbed wire fence posts as poles. Church services were held from early days, with all groups worshipping in the courthouse. Arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1898 also spurred town growth: In 1901, 1902, and 1908 Canyon is said to have shipped out more cattle than any other city in the world. Canyon incorporated 1906 at the urging of Jasper N. Haney, lawyer, who was elected first mayor. More strides were made when an electric power plant was built 1908. It first ran only in the evening, but later was on in the afternoon - for women to do the ironing. Canyon became an educational center in 1910 when West Texas State University was opened here. Since then, the two have advanced side by side. Canyon citizens initiated Buffalo Lake Conservation Project, dedicated 1939, and have contributed greatly to the development of the entire Panhandle region. (1968)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Surveyed on Christmas Day 1887 by L. G. Conner and named for nearby Palo Duro Canyon, Canyon rose against the Panhandle's snow, sandstorms, and grasshopper plagues. Early settlers strung the first telephone line on barbed-wire fence posts, and the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1898 made the town a cattle-shipping powerhouse that claimed some of the largest shipments in the world. In 1910 West Texas State University opened here, and town and school have grown side by side ever since.
Why it matters
Canyon embodies the grit of Panhandle settlement, where railroads, ranching, and a new college transformed harsh open plains into an enduring center of West Texas life.
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Related people
- · L. G. Conner
- · Jasper N. Haney
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
First Baptist Church
Canyon, TX
Seven charter members organized First Baptist Church in the raw Panhandle town of Canyon in December 1890, when the surrounding plains were only beginning to be settled. The congregation built Canyon's first church building in 1899 and began its present structure in 1929, finishing it despite the Great Depression. Deeply tied to West Texas State University, the church started a Latin-American mission, a campus Bible Chair, and assembly grounds on the High Plains.
Site of Wagon Yard
Canyon, TX
From about 1890 to 1921 this Canyon wagon yard was the working headquarters for ranchmen come to town, who slept in their bedrolls or a room above the office and cooked over a campfire in the yard. It cost a dime to stable a horse and fifty cents for a man; feed and coal were for sale, water was free, and hands were hired and horses doctored on the spot.
L. T. Lester Home
Canyon, TX
Buffalo hunter turned cattleman L. T. Lester settled the high plains near Canyon in 1889 and opened its first bank in 1900. In 1904 he built this comfortable home—its fireplace mantels and marble lavatories hauled from Kansas City—which became a hub of political, social, and church gatherings. Active in civic life, Lester helped bring what became West Texas State University to Canyon in 1910.
The Charles Goodnight Memorial Trail
Canyon, TX
This route retraces the path Charles Goodnight rode in 1876 when he drove 1,600 cattle down from Colorado into the sheltering depths of Palo Duro Canyon to found the first ranch on the Texas Staked Plains. Born in Illinois in 1836 and hardened on the frontier, Goodnight blazed some 2,000 miles of cattle trail with partner Oliver Loving, built the vast JA Ranch with John Adair, and became the archetype of the Texas cowman. He also preserved a buffalo herd, founded a college, and fought for law and order until his death in 1929.