Plains Trail Region

(806) 537-3517

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History runs deep in the city of Panhandle.The restored 1928 Santa Fe depot houses City Hall, and the 1950 Moderne-style Carson County Courthouse remains the seat of county government. A refurbished downtown boasts businesses in historic structures and streets built of century-old red bricks.

History takes flight at the Carson County Square House Museum, one of the nation's finest small museums. The museum’s centerpiece is the white clapboard square house built in 1887 by the N Bar N Ranch using lumber hauled by oxcart from Kansas. Other structures include the 1912 Conway Community Church, a 1928 Santa Fe caboose, and reconstructions of a windmill and a half-dugout. Concise case exhibits in 21 buildings showcase the region’s cultural history, natural history, and art. Step back in time inside the commerce building where a recreated depot, store, bank, dental office, print shop, and blacksmith shop rekindle life of a century ago. Habitat dioramas display a wide range of local wildlife. Farm and ranch exhibits include a chuckwagon, buggy and tack room inside a replica bunkhouse. Other buildings offer quilts, historic photos, and galleries of local and traveling artworks.

Travel under the railroad underpass to US Highway 60 outside town to view the soaring 22-foot-tall giant arrow marker along the Quanah Parker Trail, commemorating the area's Native American history.