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GLAZIER, TEXASHemphill County,
Texas Panhandle
Highway 60
Population 45 (1990 estimate)
Area
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Former
jail in Glazier
Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Glazier was born with the arrival of the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway.
It was reportedly named for one H. C. Glazier, who was a friend of
the man whose ranch provided the townsite. For the curious, merchant
J. F. Johnson was the man, and the town was platted in 1887. Glazier
became a cattle shipping point and a grain elevator at the railroad
made it a grain shipping point as well.
By 1915 Glazier had a healthy population of 300 but the following
year an expansion of the Santa Fe railroad drew off much of the cattle
and wheat business.
In June of 1916 most of the business district was destroyed in a fire.
By 1920 the population had been reduced to about half of the 1915
population of 300.
Disaster gave Glazier a break until April 1947 when a tornado struck
- killing 12 of the remaining townfolk.
The post office closed in 1959 and by the mid 80s no businesses were
reported in Glazier.
Amarillo
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Glacier,
Texas Forum
Glazier
and Higgins Tornado of April, 1947
Dear TE, The recent pictures of the Greenburg, Kansas tornado brought
back memories of the tornado that hit Hemphill County back in 1947.
I was 12 years old on April 9, 1947 when I witnessed the tornado
that hit Higgins
and Glazier. It was just southwest of the airport at Canadian,
Texas, where my father Thomas L. McCurdy was the airport manager.
The tornado was so large that there were five or six smaller twisters
circling the main column. The tornado was so close that the air
seemed to be all sucked up. It was such weird feeling. The main
tornado lifted as it crossed the South Canadian River but went back
on the ground after reaching the north side. We were so frightened
by it, that we talked about it for hours after it had passed. The
next morning someone was banging on the door at the airport. The
man who ran the paper at Canadian
was saying that Glazier was wiped out. My dad flew the photographer
over the area and took the original pictures of the devastation.
After returning to the airport, my dad flew back to Glazier and
landed on the highway to pick up two of the injured and bring them
back to the Canadian hospital. He remained in that plane for the
next two days flying people from Higgins
and Glazier because the highway from Canadian to Higgins was impassable.
All the barbed wire and telephone/ telegraph lines were twisted
together and wove back and forth on the highway for many miles.
Cars couldn't drive over it because of the barbed wire, so Dad's
airplane was the main lifeline between Canadian
and the other two towns. On the second day the Army flew in with
stretcher planes and helped. Dad’s plane was a Stinson Voyager with
a stretcher in it. He could carry one in the stretcher and one in
the back seat. I don’t know how many trips he made but I know he
was in the airplane for two solid days. The local gasoline dealer
brought kerosene smuge pots to the airport and lined both sides
of the runaway. They did the same in Glazier and Higgins
and he flew all night long to bring the injured to Canadian.
The basements of the Baptist and Methodist churches were filled
with injured people after the hospital had run out of room. The
high school gym was also used. Even though I was only twelve at
the time, my memories of that event remain vivid. - Otto W. (Bill)
McCurdy, Houston Texas, May 14, 2007
Subject:
Glazier Texas
Hello, Editor! Today I am writing about April 9, 1947 in Glazier,Texas.
I am the grandson of a victim of the 1947 tornado there. My grandfather
was in Amarillo that day and when he went back home April 10, 1947
at 10:30 AM he said he found his home totally destroyed. He told
me only one damaged structure remained standing. All his cows were
gone or dead on the floor with other animals. His diner was completely
wiped out and only ripped clothes and mud was left in the entire
home village. - Sebastian Lara Velazco-Weiss, September 24, 2006
Subject:
Ghost town of Glazier
My dad, Richard King, was born April 10, 1947 in Perryton,
Texas. There was only one doctor and one nurse at the hospital
because all other medical personel had been sent to help with the
tornado victims of Glazier. - Sharon Thomas, Pampa, Texas, July
20, 2006
Subject:
Glazier Texas
The tornado that destroyed Glazier actually occurred on April 9th,
1947. It moved on to destroy much of Higgins, then to Woodward,
Ok., before moving into Kansas, thus making it the Tri-State Tornado
of 1947. The only building left standing in Glazier was the jail
cell pictured.
Frequently missed fact...the tornado was one of the most destructive
and deadly in US history, but was eclipsed one week later by the
colossal Texas City Explosion of the Grandcamp and High Flier.....Kenny,
Wimberley, Texas, April 25, 2006
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Anyone
wishing to share photos, stories or memories of Glazier, Texas, please
contact
us. If the grain elevator at Glazier is still standing, we'd appreciate
any information.
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