Potter County, Texas
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Surnames/tags: Potter County, Texas US History
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Surnames/tags: Potter County, Texas US History
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Welcome to Potter County, Texas Project!
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Contents |
History/Timeline
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| Alibates Flint Quarries. |
- Potter County was created 1876 Texas from Bexar Dist. and organized 1887.[1]
- Ice Age Clovis Culture- Indians in the Ice Age Clovis Culture, used the Alibates flint for their spear points, when hunting the Mammoths before the Great lakes formed.[2] People came to the red bluffs near the Canadian River to find flint for their spears.
- Pueblo dwelling sites have been found along the Canadian River.[3]
- 1541 -Francisco Vásquez de Coronado crossed the area.
- 1700 - Recent Apache culture was found here, then were pushed out of the by Comanches.
- 1820 - Major Stephen H Long followed the Canadian River eastward to the junction with the Arkansas.
- 1840- 1849- During the California gold rush, gold seekers came through on trails blazed by Josiah Gregg and Randolph B Marcy surveyed along the Canadian valley.
- 1845 and 1853 Lt. James W. Abert and Lt. Amiel W. Whipple crossed the area during their surveys of the Canadian valley..
- Remains of a plaza of the Comanchero traders and New Mexican pastores camps at Tecovas Springs.
- 1870's buffalo hunting decimated the herds that once roamed the area, forcing the Indians, who were dependent upon the buffalo, to leave.
- 1876 - Texas legislature formed Potter County from the Bexar District and organized 1887.[4]
- 1951 - Amarillo Air Force Base opened,
- 1950's - Development of Panhandle mineral resources, helped to spur further growth.
- 1960 - population was 115,580.
- 1968 - Closure of the air force base was a severe blow and by
- 1970 -County's population dropped to 90,511.
- 1974 - 250,000 barrels of oil were produced.
- 1978 - 436,000 barrels oil
- 1980 - population was 98,637. 91% of the land was farms and ranches and 10% was cultivated. Wheat and sorghum were the most important crops with large cattle ranches in the majority of the county.
- post 1920 manufacturing income has been derived largely from helium, natural gas, oil, and sand and gravel; approximately 60% of the world's helium has been produced there. Though natural gas has been produced in the area since before 1920
- 1982 - 382,000 barrels oil. 48,477,000,000 cubic feet of gas-well gas and 1,867,000,000 cubic feet of casinghead gas were produced.
- 1990: - 198,000 barrels oil and population was 97,874
- 2000 - 2000, about 295,000 barrels of oil were produced in the area, and 24,879,000,000 cubic feet of gas-well gas was extracted.
- Jan 1, 2001- 9,160,319 barrels of oil had been taken from county lands since discovery
- production of natural gas has also significantly contributed to the county’s economy.
Amarillo History
- AMARILLO HISTORY
- 1887 - Trail driving days ended. Amarillo was settled . The Fort Worth & Denver City Railroad was building diagonally across the Panhandle of Texas SE to NW and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe ran NE to SW. At their intersection SOUTH of the Canadian River became Amarillo, the cattle shipping market and later days would be a confluence of the railways coming into Texas.. [5]
- 1887 Builders of the railways felt that a major shipping center north needed to be on the Plains, but not on the Canadian river. The People focused on Amarillo site..feIt the shipping center would be southeast of the Fort Worth & Denver City’s Amarillo Creek crossing, as far north on the Plains as possible and yet keeping clear of the Canadian River. Washburn (Claude) had a geographical advantage, the railways crossed in Amarillo. A Place Called Ragtown when the business center for Amarillo/Ragtown was laid out near Bowie and West 4th. To create this town, the State of Texas was paid $1,280 for 640 Acres of School land.[5]
- 1887 The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe stopped building when it reached the town of Panhandle , but brought its trains to Amarillo over the Fort Worth & Denver City tracks by way of a “topline” connecting Panhandle and Washburn. [5]
- 1887 Amarillo first Newspaper, Amarillo Northwestern founded in 1887 by D.F. Rudolph; it was followed by the Amarillo Champion in 1889, founded by H.H. Brooks. [5]
- 1877 AGAIN Charles Goodnight and Judge O.H. Nelson brought their registered bulls into Amarillo, where they could be mixed and bred with the native Longhorns. Hereford cattle breeding was started.
These interbred herds inherited Longhorn hardiness and the Hereford quality of beef.[5]
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| 1943, Amarillo. |
- March 1888 Amarillo's railroads, cattle and merchandising was increased with first Fort Worth & Denver City passenger train arrived in Amarillo in March of 1888 from Clarendon, which was the former terminal. [5]
- 1888 The first courthouse was built was built of bricks made from Amarillo Creek.. Its square was bounded by Travis, Bowie, 4th and 5th Streets in Old Town.. The railroad depot was south of tracks.
The name Amarillo, which means yellow in Spanish, was probably chosen because of the color of the sub-soil in nearby Amarillo Creek. In the early days most houses were painted yellow in honor of the name. Stockyards nearby. [5]
- 1888 and into the early 1890’s Amarillo was the the western states' greatest cattle shipping market. A railroad to Roswell accepted the herds that were being driven into Amarillo "(50,000 head in the town) Herds would be held 2 weeks at water holes on the prairie waiting for available transportation.[5]
- 1889: The town began to move gradually moved EASTWARD when the Glidden & Sanborn addition was built EASTWARD . They hauled the depot was hauled to Polk and First Streets. A New Amarillo Hotel, was built at Polk and 3rd. [5]
- 1890 -- businesses and houses Sprang up along Polk and Taylor. A Windmill with tanks provided the first public water supply locayed. The first public utility was a water supply system from a windmill and tanks at the Sanborn homestead.[5]
- 1893 - an election in May officially moved the courthouse to Gladden and Sunburn addition on Polk and Taylor. They hand carried needed books and records from the rented county offices in the businesses to the courthouse.[5]
:1896 When the printing office was moved from “Old Town” , the building displayed many bullet holes, mementos of early day “shoot outs. The third newspaper, and only survivor of the pioneer days, was the Amarillo News founded in 1892 by J.L. Caldwell.[5]
- 1898 -The Pecos Valley & North Eastern, known locally as the Pea Vine, built into Amarillo from Roswell . [5]
- 1899 Pecos Valley & North Eastern came under control of the A.T. &S.F. which started its through-train service from the east to Roswell and westward in August, 1899. [5]
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| 1943, Amarillo. |
- 1908 A.T. &S.F. built connecting linkage from Panhandle to Amarillo, and continued south to Sweetwater in 1911, northeast to Borger in 1926, and north toward Los Animas as far as Boise City in 1931.[5]
- 1910 the population of Amarillo had grown to 9,957. [5]
- 1913 Amarillo was authorized its charter. with voting 657 to 169. First city of SW and the 5th in USA to have Commission-Manager type of government.[5]
- 1908 A.T. &S.F. Railroad built connecting linkage from Panhandle to Amarillo, and continued south to Sweetwater in 1911, northeast to Borger in 1926, and N toward Los Animas as far as Boise City in 1931.[5]
- 1902 - Cheyenne, Oklahoma & Western, nicknamed the “Cow Track,” built into Amarillo from the east.[5]
- 1904 It soon took control of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and extended construction to Tucumcari [5]
- 1909 =West Texas State University at Canyon was founded [5]
- Sept, 1918 -Gas was discovered in September, two miles north of Amarillo in the Hapgood well. This has grown to be the world’s second largest gas field; pipelines deliver Panhandle gas as far away as the Atlantic seaboard, creating the world’s largest natural gas development.[5]
- 1920: Black Gold (oil) was discovered by Gulf Production Company on the BurkBurnett 6666 Ranch.[5]
- 1928 the Fort Worth & Denver City built a network of railroads on the South Plains that greatly benefited Amarillo. [5]
- 1929 - Amarillo College [5]
- June 19, 1929 airplane transportation began air mail service on July 1, 1930.[5]
- 1931 they began building from railroad Childress to Pampa.[5]
- Amarillo's 1st schoolhouse was built near a lake in the vicinity of Van Buren and 8th. [5]
Government Offices
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| Potter County courthouse. |
- It is named for Robert Potter who was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Secretary of the Texas Navy.
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice Clements Unit and Neal Unit - in unincorporated Potter County, east of the City of Amarillo.
Geography
Panhandle of Texas
Potter county is a rolling terrain. Its elevation is 3,000- 3,800 feet above sea level. Its soils are mainly chocolate and red loams with some sand and clay. The Canadian River flows easterly across the northern part of Potter County. In 965, Lake Meredith was formed by damming a portion of the Canadian River and is 8 miles in the NW part of the county.
North Central Plains is bounded by the Caprock Escarpment in the Panhandle. The Caprock is higher in elevation than the rest of the North Central Plains. A noted fact of one who has lived there,- over the ages the creeks and rivers run-off of water wears the region down to the river. This is known as the Breaks.
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. The Handbook of Texas defines the southern border of Swisher County to be the southern boundary of the Texas Panhandle region.
According to the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, the following counties constitute the Texas Panhandle:
Armstrong County, Briscoe County, Carson County, Castro County, Childress County, Collingsworth County, Dallam County, Deaf Smith County, Donley County, Gray County, Hall County, Hansford County, Hartley County, Hemphill County, Hutchinson County, Lipscomb County, Moore County, Ochiltree County, Oldham County, Parmer County, Potter County, Randall County, Roberts County, Sherman County, Swisher County, Wheeler County
Formed From
- Potter county was created 21 August 1876 from Bexar Land District
Adjacent counties
- Moore County (north)
- Carson County (east)
- Randall County (south)
- Oldham County (west)
- Deaf Smith County (southwest)
- Armstrong County (southeast)
- Hartley County (northwest)
- Hutchinson County (northeast)
Protected areas
- Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument - here there is located a Working Dogs Program,
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| Alibates Flint Quarries. |
- Lake Meredith National Recreation
- Canadian River
Demographics
Prairie grasses cover the land, with hugh cactuses, mesquite, hackberry, juniper, and scrub oak grow in the breaks. Temperatures range from an average low of 23° F in January to an average high of 92° in July.
In 2014 the there were 21,627 people living in Potter County. 47.1 percent were Anglo, 36.7 percent were Hispanic, and 10.8 percent were African American.
Over 81% of residents over age of 25 are high school graduates with 14% are college graduates.
Amarillo in the 21st century is the transportation and distribution for much of West Texas.;Oil and gas production, manufacturing, petrochemicals, and agriculture are the elements that support much of the economy of the county.
2002 the county had 305 farms and ranches covering 521,824 acres, 86% are pasture, with 13% in crops. of which were devoted to pasture and 13 percent to crops. That year farmers and ranchers in the area earned $19,490,000. Livestock sales accounted for $18,175,000 of the total. Beef cattle raising and processing were the county’s chief agricultural activities, though crops such as corn and wheat were also grown there.
Over 90% of the people in Potter County live in urban areas. Amarillo (population, 200,526, partly in Randall County) remains the seat of government and is by far the largest center of population.
Annual rainfall averages 20.28 inches. The growing season lasts 190 days. The climate here is arid due to the elevation.
POLITICS: - Voters supported Democratic nominations for President 1888-1948 after which many Republican presidents were supported. A majority of the county's electorate voted Republican in almost every election between 1952 and 2004, however. EXCEPTION was- 1964, Democrat and Texas son Lyndon B. Johnson.
Potter and most Texas panhandle counties are strongly Republican in politics in the recent years.
Railroad- Potter county's economy grew from ranching, and the stores that accompany a city. The railroads were built. Amarillo is a hub for Railroads. These rapidly expanded, leading to the installation of a large division office, and shops, eight-stall engine house... and diversified rapidly during the late 1890s and early 1900s as new railroads built into the area.
- 1899 the Santa Fe line established a large divisional office in the town and built an eight-stall engine house, a blacksmith shop, and a machine shop there.
- 1904 -
- Santa Fe
- Southern Kansas
- Pecos and Northern Texas
- Choctaw,
- Oklahoma and Texas railroads had also built lines through the county. In
- 1908 the Santa Fe extended a branch line to Canyon, Lubbock, and Sweetwater. Amarillo, already the marketing center for ranchers in the Panhandle, South Plains, and New Mexico,
- Ussery-Roan Texas State Veterans Home is located in Amarillo, Texas
Highways:
- I-27 (TX) Interstate 27
- I-40 (TX) Interstate 40
- Interstate 40 Business
- U.S. Highway 60
- U.S. Highway 87
- U.S. Highway 287
- Texas State Highway 136
- Texas Loop 335
Cities
- Amarillo - is part of Potter County and Randall county.
Town/Communities
Historical:
Resources
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| Cadillac Ranch by millionaire Stanley Marsh |
- Oil and Gas was discovered. Refineries such as Phillips Petroleum, Shamrock Oil and Gas, Magnolia Petroleum Company, and the Texas Company (Texaco), which built a large refinery just east of Amarillo.
- Child-welfare unit,
- Library,
- Cerebral palsy clinic
- Harrington Regional Medical Center.
- Amarillo College serves both Potter and Randall counties
- Texas State Technical College , Amarillo Branch
- Amarillo Globe-News Company publishes the Amarillo News and Globe-Times. I
- Helium production and zinc smelters
Census
- 1880 -- 28
- 1890 -- 849
- 1900 -- 1,820
- 1910 -- 12,424
- 1920 -- 16,710
- 1930 -- 46,080
- 1940 -- 54,265
- 1950 -- 73,366
- 1960 -- 115,580
- 1970 -- 90,511
- 1980 -- 98,637
- 1990 -- 97,874
- 2000 -- 113,546
- 2010 -- 121,073
- Est. 2014 -- 121,627
Notables
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| Vietnam War Memorial. |
- Ernest O. Thompson, a decorated World War I general
- Rick Douglas Husband, commander of Space Shuttle, Columbia
- Charles Adair
- Charles J Goodnight Charles Goodnight, rancher, Texas ranger
- T. Boone Pickens, Jr., oilman and philanthropist
- Stanley Marsh
- Robert Potter, signer of Texas Independence 1799–1842
- William B. Plemons
- James Nathan Browning, Texas lieutenant governor
- George Hendricks Beverley, U.S. Air Force general
- Thomas E. Creek, U.S. Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient
- Rick Husband, astronaut
- Paul Lockhart, astronaut
- Leroy Matthiesen, local Catholic bishop
Cemeteries
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- Find a Grave Cemeteries, Potter county
- Llano Cemetery, find a grave
- FamilySearch Cemeteries, Potter County
- Potter County Cemeteries by Gloria Mayfield
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| War Memorial |
Sources
- ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/index.php?q=topics/government/potter-county
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibates_Flint_Quarries_National_Monument
- ↑ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcp07
- ↑ Residents were employees of cattle ranches.
- 1877 David T. Beals and W. H. Bates began LX Ranch headquarters on Ranch Creek, near N bank of the Canadian River. LIT Ranch owned by George W. Littlefield in western portion of the county.
. - 1880 census: 28 people on the 3 ranches, 14,000 cattle and 4,200 sheep, but no crops :1881 Henry B. Sanborn opened the Frying Pan Ranch at Tecovas Springs. Warren W. Wetzel, the ranch bookkeeper and later Amarillo's first mayor, resided at the adobe headquarters. Katherine Wentzel was the only woman in this county for about six years.
- 1887 Settlements increased drastically with construction of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway across the Panhandle. One construction camp grew overnight from a buffalo-hut settlement known as Ragtown-- Amarillo.
- Aug 30, 1887 - William B. Plemons, county judge, proposed townsite near the head of Amarillo Creek when Oldham County officials ordered an election held on August 30 to organize Potter County.
- J.T Berry proposed Oneida and Plemons agreed. (2) miles southeast
- Frank Lester, and Henry Sanborn suggested Plains City.
- Jesse Jenkins, a Tascosa saloon owner, suggested Ragtown with a new name of Odessa. Majority of voters were cowhands of the LX Ranch, they were promised lots for business, residence.
- The election returns favored Oneida (renamed Amarillo).
- Oct, 1887 -Railroad was completed into the town in October 1887, a post office was established. People from surrounding townsites began to move to the new county seat.
Railroad - May 1888, The first newspaper, the Amarillo Champion and a school was established..
- 1890 - Henry Sanborn, had been establishing another townsite east of "Old Town" Amarillo, and due toflood dangers, most of the town was moved to a new, higher site.
- 1890- Cattle ranching was firmly the most lucrative business, dominating Potter County's economy and culture. Twenty ranches, ( 511,000 acres), were here.
- 1899 - Santa Fe line built its large divisional office and an 8-stall engine house, a blacksmith shop, and a machine shop .
- 1900- 79 ranches with population 1,820. Railroads brought in more population and expansion.
- 1904 the Southern Kansas, the Pecos and Northern Texas, and the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Texas railroads had also built lines through the county
- 1906 - Population was 5,000
- 1908 Santa Fe RR extended to Canyon, Lubbock, and Sweetwater. Amarillo became the shipping and marketing center for ranchers in the Panhandle, South Plains, and eastern New Mexico, grew rapidly during this time. Railroad employees, construction workers "sharks, grafters, pickpockets and bums" who hoped to take advantage of the boom arrived.
- 1908-1910 Santa Fe Railroad, established agricultural demonstration centers, hired agricultural agents to work with local farmers, and ran excursion trains from Chicago and elsewhere into Amarillo for prospective buyers..
- 1910 Old ranchlands in the Panhandle were subdivided into farmland, the town also became the terminus of excursion trains carrying hundreds of prospective farmers, who were met by the agents of land companies and taken out to view property.
- 1910 - population was 9,957 in 1910. Cattle ranches split into farms. Cattle ranching was the most important of the county's agricultural economy. There were 162 farms and ranches in the county, with 500 acres was planted in corn, the county's most important crop at the time.
- 1918 - gas field discovered twenty-five miles NW of Amarillo
- 1920 - # farms and ranches were 322, with 24,500 acres planted in wheat, and 3,200 acres in sorghum. Cattle remained an important part of the local economy - 28,500.
- 1928 Construction completed to Texline to connect the Fort Worth & Denver City with the Colorado and Southern. The two companies, with a system reaching from Wyoming to the Gulf of Mexico, were now consolidated into the Burlington System.
- Headquarters of oil companies, Phillips Petroleum, Shamrock Oil and Gas, Magnolia Petroleum Company, and the Texas Company (Texaco), which built a large refinery east of Amarillo.
- New towns-Bushland, Cliffside, Ady, Soncy, Pullman, and St. Francis began near the railroads.
- 1925 Oil began to be produced
- 1930's - The Great Depression forced some oil companies to close and hit farmers hard. Crops harvested declined from 42,546 acres to 38,037 acres.
- New Deal programs, helped give work and sustenance to families. Work Projects Administration helped to fund improvements of Amarillo streets and sewerage.
- 1941 - World War II -Amarillo Army Air Field and the Pantex Munitions Plant, which had servicemen and created new jobs.
- 1945 - 540 farms and ranches in the county.
- 1946 - Closure of the airfield hit the economy again.
- 1949 - A tornado crossed Amarillo, while this author's aunt and uncle were in the movie theater. The Tornado blew away all of their garage on Polk Street, and part of the house roof. this tornado caused $3,000,000 Dollars property damage with the loss of 7 lives.<ref>http://amarillo.gov/?page_id=1715</li>
- Handbook of Texas Online, H. Allen Anderson and John Leffler, "Potter County," accessed June 23, 2016, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcp07. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on February 15, 2016. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
- http://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-cadillacranch.html
- http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2220
- Alibates Flint quarries
- Panhandle of Texas geography
- https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcp07
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