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CANADIAN,
TEXAS
"Oasis
of the Panhandle"
Hemphill County
Seat, Texas
Panhandle
Highways 60 and 83
52 miles N of Shamrock
44 miles N of Mobeetie
23 miles NE of Miami
105 miles NE of Amarillo
via Hwy 60
Population:
2,233 (2000) 2,400 (1990)
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Former
Hemphill County Jail in Canadian
Barclay Gibson, January 2003 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
In early 1887 E. P. Purcell and O. H. Nelson, laid out a 240-acre
townsite for the soon to arrive Southern Kansas Railway. The site,
which was on the South bank of the Canadian River connected to the
community of Hogtown (AKA Clear Creek) by a bridge that summer. Residents
and businesses crossed from Hogtown to be near the rails. |
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"A
pretty view showing the Canadian River in the Background."
1920s vintage photo courtesy Ken Sharpe |
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"Strange
Locations of Oil Wells in Canadian River"
1920s vintage photo courtesy Ken Sharpe |
| A post office
was granted in August of 1887 and the town's first hotel - The Log
Cabin opened its doors. On Independence Day 1888, Canadian hosted
the first annual Cowboys' Reunion rodeo - one of the first commercial
rodeos in Texas. |
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Canadian
Depot
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
By 1900 the town
was thriving due to its being a division point fort the railroad.
The town soon had cotton gins, grain elevators and even a private
academy, as well as the usual businesses necessary to a vibrant town.
It was estimated that the town once had as many as thirteen saloons.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union set up their own building -
which also houses the city library.
The Handbook of Texas acknowledges the names of early business
pioneers as George and John J. Gerlach, Harvey E. Hoover, Edward H.
Brainard, and Nahim Abraham, who immigrated from Lebanon.
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The recently
restored Palace Theater has a history going back 80 years.
Photo courtesy Wes Reeves |
Mr. Abraham,
descendant, is the man responsible for the renovation of Canadian's
beautiful Palace Theater.
Temple Lea Houston,
Sam Houston's youngest (and most flamboyant) son once lived in Canadian
before settling in what is now Oklahoma. |
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The
Roundhouse in Canadian
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
The railroad,
which had long since been absorbed by the Santa Fe - closed the roundhouse
in the 1950s. This might have been a deathblow to a lesser town, but
Canadian survived. From the 1950 population of 2,600, it grew to nearly
3,500 by 1980.
Amarillo
Hotels
Book Your Hotel Here & Save: |
River Valley
Pioneer Museum
118 North 2nd Street.
Tuesday to Friday 10 to 12 & 1 to 4. Sunday 2 to 4
The Palace
Theater: 210 Main Street 323-5133
The recently restored theater has a history going back 80 years.
Lake Marvin
Shamrock
Hotels
Book Your Hotel Here & Save
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Canadian
Tourist Information
Chamber
of Commerce: 216 South Second Street Canadian, Texas 79014 806-323-6234
Canadian-Hemphill
County Economic Development Council
216 South Second 806-323-5397
Contact the Chamber for their complete, all-in-one, 60 page information
guide. Although there is no table of contents, you'll probably see
things you might have missed had there been one. Maybe that was
the idea. There's an abundance of historic photographs which are
usually left out of most brochures.
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