Randall County
Umbarger, Randall County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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 of West Texas State University, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Palo Duro State Park, Buffalo Lake. (1965)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Created in 1876 and named for Confederate general Horace Randal, this Panhandle county was first settled in 1877 by rancher Leigh Dyer, a brother-in-law of the legendary Charles Goodnight, who drove the first cattle into the region. Organized in 1889 with Canyon as its seat, it became home to West Texas State University, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, and the dramatic canyons of Palo Duro.
Why it matters
The county's founding captures the ranching frontier of the Texas Panhandle, where open-range cattlemen like Goodnight opened one of the last great grasslands to American settlement.
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Related people
- · Leigh Dyer
- · Charles Goodnight
- · Horace Randal
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Dreamland Cemetery
Canyon, TX
Opened in 1891 as Canyon City Cemetery on land deeded by S.W. Kelley, this Panhandle burial ground received its first two interments that year—including Jerry Adams, an African American cowboy who died on a cattle drive. The Civic Improvement League renamed it Dreamland in 1909, and it grew to hold the founders, financiers, educators, and cultural figures of Randall County, from town founder L.G. Connor to Palo Duro drama creator Margaret Harper and rockabilly musician Buddy Knox. A citizens' association has cared for the grounds since 1957.
Tex Randall
Canyon, TX
In 1959, along U.S. Highway 60 west toward New Mexico, teacher-turned-curio-shop-owner Harry Wheeler set out to lure travelers with something unmissable: a 47-foot, seven-ton concrete cowboy. Over ten months he shaped wire mesh, rebar and concrete into the figure, then dressed it in Levi-Strauss pants and a hand-stitched shirt topped with a Stetson-style hat. Highway reconstruction thinned his tourist trade and he sold the property in 1963, but 'Tex Randall' endured as a beloved roadside landmark of the Texas Panhandle.
Palo Duro Baptist Church
Dawn, TX
Palo Duro Baptist Church grew from Union School, built by Deaf Smith County settlers around 1893 as a place for community worship and learning. After a 1901 revival, twelve charter members organized the congregation, and in 1906 pioneers John and Janette Womble's land gift and community donations produced its first building. Over the decades the church became known for outreach — a Spanish mission for Bracero farm workers, support for children's homes, scholarships, and prison ministry.
Randall County
Canyon, TX
Created in 1876 and named for Confederate general Horace Randal, this Panhandle county was first settled in 1877 by rancher Leigh Dyer, brother-in-law of the famed Charles Goodnight, who brought the first cattle to the region. Organized in 1889 with Canyon as its seat, it grew into the home of West Texas State University, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, and Palo Duro Canyon.