Town of Goodnight
Goodnight, Armstrong County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Named in honor of Charles Goodnight, 1836-1929, noted scout, Indian fighter and trail blazer who established the first ranch in the Texas Panhandle in 1876 and is also known as the Burbank of the Range
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Panhandle town of Goodnight bears the name of Charles Goodnight (1836–1929), the celebrated scout, trail blazer, and cattleman who established the first ranch in the Texas Panhandle in 1876. Known as the 'Burbank of the Range' for his experiments in breeding and range improvement, he loomed large in the settlement of the high plains.
Why it matters
Goodnight helped open the Texas Panhandle to ranching, and the town named for him marks the arrival of the cattle frontier on the southern plains.
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Related people
- · Charles Goodnight
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Site of Old Goodnight Ranch
Goodnight, TX
This site holds the first ranch established in the Texas Panhandle, founded in 1876 by Charles Goodnight (1836–1929)—scout, trail blazer, Indian fighter, and rancher known as the 'Burbank of the Range.' The State of Texas erected the marker recording it in 1936.
Donley County Courthouse
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Designed by Bulger and Rapp and built by the Troutman Brothers of Trinidad, Colorado, the Donley County Courthouse opened in November 1891 as a striking Romanesque Revival landmark of towers, red brick, and limestone. Remodeling in the 1930s stripped away the entire third floor and much of its ornament, but a careful restoration returned it to its original grandeur, rededicated on July 4, 2003. It is now the oldest functioning courthouse in the Texas Panhandle.
First Baptist Church of Panhandle
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First Baptist Church has served the town of Panhandle—first called Carson City—since the late 1800s, organized in 1897 and reorganized in 1905 as settlers filled the Texas Panhandle. The congregation grew rapidly during the 1920s oil boom, then weathered crushing debt, the Great Depression, and the Dust Bowl as neighbors moved away to boomtowns like Borger. Members rallied to pay off their building in 1940 and rebuilt again after a 1997 fire, sustaining a long tradition of charity and missions.
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