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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) |
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. |
"A
pretty view showing the Canadian River in the Background."
1920s vintage
photo courtesy Ken Sharpe |
"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. |
| | 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. |
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. |
| | 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.
Canadian
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 4The
Palace Theater: 210 Main Street 323-5133
The recently restored theater has
a history going back 80 years.Lake
Marvin Canadian
Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save |
Canadian
Tourist InformationChamber
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.Canadian
Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save |
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