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CLAUDE,
TEXAS
Armstrong
County Seat, Texas
Panhandle
4.8 miles S of the Carson County Line (FM 207)
16 miles W of the Donley County Line (Highway 287)
20 miles East of Amarillo
Population:
1, 313 (2000) 1,199 (1990)
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History
in a Pecan Shell
Claude Ayers, railroad engineer for the Fort Worth and Denver City
Railway had the town of Armstrong City renamed in his honor when
he drove the first train to town in 1887.
The town's business district was originally platted along the railroad
tracks with angles southeast to northwest, while later building was
platted on the traditional compass points.
A post office was granted in 1888 and the county was organized in
1890.
A dispute with the town of Washburn (13 miles NW) called for an election
with cattleman Charles Goodnight (who lived East of Claude) supposedly
casting the tie-breaking vote. The largest hotel in the Panhandle,
a three-story model named the Palace opened and Claude organized their
own school district in 1891.
Claude's citizens reportedly used a trough on the courthouse square
for their water and a stone
courthouse was built in 1912.
Claude claims to have had the first Boy Scout Troop (17) west of the
Mississippi and to date, no one has stepped forward to challenge that
claim.
The population was just over 1,000 in 1930 and it fell to 761 by 1940.
A new Armstrong County jail was built from the stone of the former
jail in 1951.
Claude served as the backdrop for the movie Hud in 1963, and several
others films.
The current population has increased back to a comfortable 1,300.
Armstrong
County Courthouse |
| The
Great Panhandle Indian Scare historical marker |
| Town
of Claude historical marker |
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