Plains Trail Region
Abernathy
In 1909, when local developers learned the Santa Fe Railroad would come through this part of Hale County, buildings were moved from the fledgling town of Bartonsite to Abernathy, including a two-story…
Texas Plains Trail Region Cities and Towns
Explore Cities and Towns in the Texas Plains Trail Region
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Plains Trail Region
Adrian
Adrian, located at the midpoint of the historic Route 66, maintains a replica of a period American Automobile Association (AAA) sign, proclaiming “1,139 miles to Chicago –– 1,139 miles to Los Angeles.”…
Plains Trail Region
Amarillo
TURNING YELLOW INTO GOLD The color of the local creek bank soil and the saffron hue of area wildflowers were the most likely inspirations for naming this 1887 townsite for the Spanish…
Plains Trail Region
Benjamin
Although there’s no rail line running through the Knox County seat of Benjamin today, the railway played a major role in the settlement of the region. And signs of the heyday of…
Plains Trail Region
Big Spring
BIG SPRING LIVING HISTORY Heritage communities like Big Spring usually go to great lengths to preserve and restore much of their historic past, a project that typically involves architecture like courthouses and…
Plains Trail Region
Borger
During the Roaring Twenties, Borger boomed as one of West Texas’ roughest oil towns. Shrewd promoter and city namesake Ace Borger platted his town in March of 1926, and within three months…
Plains Trail Region
Boys Ranch
Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch overlooks an ancient Indian crossing of the Canadian River and remains a working ranch and home to at-risk boys and girls. From 1876 to 1887, it was Tascosa…
Plains Trail Region
Brownfield
Named for Col. Benjamin F. Terry, Confederate leader of Terry’s Texas Rangers, Terry County was among many High Plains counties carved out of the Bexar District in 1876. In 1904, Brownfield became…
Plains Trail Region
Canadian
Drive the high rolling hills of Hemphill County and experience the same vistas seen by Native Americans hunting bison, Spanish explorers seeking treasure and American adventurists bound for California’s gold fields. Once…
Plains Trail Region
Canyon
CANYON CULTURE Visitors to the Texas Plains Trail city of Canyon, home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, will find a thriving environment of cultural and natural heritage. This Texas Main Street City…
Plains Trail Region
Channing
The Hartley County Courthouse is situated at 900 Main Street between West 9th and West 10th Streets in Channing. The historical marker in front indicates that the building was constructed in a…
Plains Trail Region
Childress
EASTERN GATEWAY TO THE PANHANDLE Childress, located in the southeastern corner of the Texas panhandle, owes much of its existence to another Plains community known as “Henry”. In the late 1800s, Henry…
Plains Trail Region
Clarendon
Brick streets and tree-shaded lawns frame the Donley County Courthouse like a century-old picture postcard. Pointed towers rise from polychromatic walls of red brick and white limestone. The restored 1891 Romanesque Revival…
Plains Trail Region
Claude
A PLAINS LEGACY Before the Texas Plains Trail community of Claude installed modern plumbing for its residents, citizens were required to haul water from the public trough, located on the courthouse square…
Plains Trail Region
Colorado City
Colorado City is a Main Street City that bustles at festival time during the aptly-named Frontier Days. During the real frontier of the 1870s a ranger camp on the Colorado River gave…
Plains Trail Region
Conway (Carson County)
The segment of Route 66 between State Highway 207 and Interstate 40 in Conway (unincorporated Carson County, Texas) is the longest and best preserved section of Route 66 in Texas. When Interstate…
Plains Trail Region
Crosbyton
Four miles east on US 82, mesas and mesquites form a rugged backdrop for historical markers that tell dramatic stories about nearby Blanco Canyon. Formed by the White River it was a…
Plains Trail Region
Crowell
CELESTIAL CITY Although Crowell incorporated in 1908 (a late start by Texas standards), the year the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railway reached the community, the area earned a place in Texas…
Plains Trail Region
Dalhart
In 1882, the Texas Legislature gave three million acres of state land to Illinois investors to fund a new Capitol building in Austin. The land became the XIT Ranch, which initially covered…
Plains Trail Region
Denver City
DENVER CITY Denver City is one of the youngest communities in the state. Established in 1939, a century or more later than many settlements in Texas, Denver City was designed to serve…
Plains Trail Region
Dickens
Dickens first served as a supply point in the late 1800s for cowboys living in line camps and working the surrounding historic ranches including the Matador, the Pitchfork, and the Spur. The…
Plains Trail Region
Dimmitt
Prairies provided grasses for early ranchers and rich soil for early farmers who turned ranchland into farmland around 1900. This cattle-to-cotton story is told at Dimmitt’s Castro County Museum, housed in the…
Plains Trail Region
Dumas
Dumas was made famous by the hit song “I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas,” written by Phil Baxter of Navarro County in the 1920s after he had spent a night in…
Plains Trail Region
Farwell
Farwell, seat of Parmer County, is located on the route of the Ozark Trail, and a replica of the marker may be seen on the courthouse square.
Plains Trail Region
Floydada
Floyd County is farming country--growing cotton, wheat, and as many as a million pumpkins a year. It’s no wonder that the county seat, Floydada, claims the title “Pumpkin Capital USA.” To honor…
Plains Trail Region
Friona
CHEESEBURGER CAPITAL OF TEXAS Friona, originally called “Frio” after the nearby Frio Draw, was established in 1898 courtesy of the giant XIT Ranch to serve as its shipping point along the Pecos…
Plains Trail Region
Fritch
FRITCH, AMERICA The community of Fritch, located in the geographic center of the Panhandle, straddles two counties – Hutchinson and Moore – inspiring some citizens to refer to its location as “Fritch…
Plains Trail Region
Gail
FIRST NAME GAIL, LAST NAME BORDEN (AS IN MILK) Gail and its home county Borden are, together, named in honor of the 19th century pioneer, land surveyor, newspaper editor, and inventor of…
Plains Trail Region
Goodnight
Situated at the edge of the Llano Estacado on U.S. Highway 287 in northeastern Armstrong County, Goodnight was named for Charles Goodnight, who settled on a ranch near the site after selling…
Plains Trail Region
Guthrie
RANCH TOWN Guthrie, seat of King County and located near the southeastern corner of the Panhandle, has been a ranching community from its birth. The community exists courtesy of both the Louisville…
Plains Trail Region
Hale Center
Texas has led the nation in cotton production nearly every year since 1880. The Hale County Farm and Ranch Museum preserves cotton farming and other agricultural farm implements, including an 1897 steam…
Plains Trail Region
Hereford
Good land and water have long attracted ranchers and farmers to Deaf Smith County. After a railroad passed this way in the late 1890s, a town called Blue Water sprang up. Settlers…
Plains Trail Region
Jayton
Vestiges of this town, once named Jay Flat for an early ranching family, can be seen in the restored elegance of the 1907 bank building now home to the Kent County State…
Plains Trail Region
Knox City
ORIENT ON THE PRAIRIE Knox City, located along the rolling plains in a region known as Knox Prairie and named in honor of Henry Knox, George Washington’s secretary of war in his…
Plains Trail Region
Lamesa
In 1903 founding fathers called this flat land Lamesa, Spanish for “the table.” The 1916 brick Dawson County Courthouse stands on the square, originally Texas Renaissance in style, it was altered in…
Plains Trail Region
Levelland
LEVELLAND Levelland, a Texas Main Street city, is “Living La Vida Mosaic.” As the states official City of Mosaics, Levelland touts over 100 mosaic art pieces throughout the city of 13,000 residents…
Plains Trail Region
Lipscomb
Lipscomb may have only 30 or so residents--and often more wild turkeys than people--but it’s still the county seat. Watch for turkeys and people on a stroll past the 1916 Classical Revival-style…
Plains Trail Region
Littlefield
CELEBRATORY CITY The first thing you might notice about the city of Littlefield is that citizens like to celebrate the seasons. Beyond the decorations, parades and special programs, Littlefield’s holiday spirit is…
Plains Trail Region
Lubbock
EPICENTER OF THE SOUTH PLAINS Lubbock, birthplace of 20th century rockabilly icon Buddy Holly, understands that history is often in the details. The city’s Buddy Holly Center exhibits many personal items that…
Plains Trail Region
Matador
NO BULLFIGHT BUT PLENTY OF CATTLE The small community of Matador, established in the 19th century and seat of Motley County, is well prepared to last another hundred years. Matador’s character –…
Plains Trail Region
McLean
The construction of railroad lines through rural Texas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to establishment of many of the small towns that dot today’s landscape. McLean is one…
Plains Trail Region
Memphis
RED BRICK STREETS Memphis features fifty blocks of brick paving along its streets, installed in 1926, providing a brick-red aesthetic to the town that is reflected in several of its historic brick…
Plains Trail Region
Miami
COW CALLING The first structure believed to appear on the site of Miami, Roberts County seat, was a half-dugout erected by settler Marion Armstrong to service the stagecoaches traveling the mail route…
Plains Trail Region
Mobeetie
In 1875, a trading post and buffalo hunter camp sprang up near Fort Elliott, one of Texas’ last frontier forts. The settlement grew into Mobeetie, one of the Panhandle’s earliest towns and…
Plains Trail Region
Morton
BOLL WEEVILS NOT WELCOME In Cochran County’s bid to transform an early ranching empire into a more equitable agricultural community in the early 1900s, a flier was sent out to prospective farmers…
Plains Trail Region
Muleshoe
With a mule’s shoe as its brand, the Muleshoe Ranch was carved out of the historic XIT Ranch. The railroad pushed through in 1913, and a town formed at the ranch’s cattle-loading…
Plains Trail Region
O’Donnell
LYNN-DAWSON COUNTY LINE The city of O’Donnell, located along the border between Lynn and Dawson Counties (but “mostly in Lynn County”, according to some locals), was founded in 1909 by a coalition…
Plains Trail Region
Paducah
Paducah, the seat of Cottle County, is sometimes referred to as the "Crossroads of America" because U.S. highways 70 and 83, which run from the borders of the United States, intersect there…