DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the official marker's account, the way I tell it on this road. Now, the name Amarillo goes back to the Spaniards, who gave it to a nearby creek — Arroyo Amarillo. That's where the city picks up its name, straight from the land itself.
The year is 1887. The Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad is building through this region, pushing iron and ambition across the High Plains. A group represented by a man named J.
T. Berry steps up and platts a town — one mile west of where you're standin' right now. And who are these founders?
Merchants. Merchants out of Colorado City, two hundred and fifty miles to the southeast, lookin' to set up convenient trade facilities for their South Plains customers. Practical men with a long view.
Later that same year — August 30th, to be precise — Potter County gets organized, and somebody's got to pick a county seat. Now, here's where it gets rich. The electors who made that decision?
Thirty-eight cowboys from the LX Ranch and fifteen from the Frying Pan. Fifty-three cowboys, casting their votes. Amarillo wins the seat.
Then comes 1889. Heavy rains arrive — and evidently that, along with other inducements, was enough to convince residents to pick up and move to a new townsite addition. That new addition was being promoted by two men: J.
F. Glidden and H. B.
Sanborn, owners of the Frying Pan Ranch, headquartered sixteen miles to the west. By 1892, Glidden and Sanborn had carved up their partnership in a way you don't see every day. Glidden traded his interest in the city for Sanborn's interest in the ranch.
Two men, two empires — each man walkin' away with exactly what he wanted. And from 1892 to 1897, Amarillo wasn't just a cattle town — it was the largest rural shipping point for cattle in the entire nation. Let that settle on you a moment.
The whole nation. But there was still one more hand to play. A rail line to serve the South Plains was proposed, and two towns stepped forward to be the junction: Amarillo and Washburn, fifteen miles to the southeast.
A rivalry, a real one. It was Sanborn — city developer, Frying Pan man, the one who'd traded away the ranch interest to stay invested in this place — who tipped the scales. Amarillo won.
Construction on that line began in 1898, and from that point on, the marker tells us, Amarillo's future was assured. It was to be the commercial center of the Texas Panhandle. From a Spanish creek to fifty-three cowboys casting votes, from a cattle empire to a railroad junction hard-won — that's the story the ground out here is holding.
What the marker says
Named for Arroyo Amarillo, nearby creek given its designation by Spaniards in early days. In 1887, when the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad was building through this region, a group represented by J. T. Berry platted the town (1 Mi. W.). The founders were merchants of Colorado City (250 Mi. SE), establishing convenient trade facilities for their South Plains customers. Later (Aug. 30) that year, Potter County was organized and Amarillo was chosen county seat by 38 LX and 15 Frying Pan cowboys as electors. In 1889 heavy rains and other inducements were factors influencing residents to move to this new townsite addition promoted by J. F. Glidden and H. B. Sanborn, owners of the Frying Pan Ranch (headquarters 16 Mi. W). In 1892 Glidden traded his interest in the city for Sanborn's interest in the ranch. In the years 1892-1897, Amarillo was the largest rural shipping point for cattle in the nation. When a rail line to serve the South Plains was proposed, Amarillo and Washburn (15 Mi. SE) were rivals for the junction. Amarillo won, through efforts of city developer Sanborn. When construction began in 1898, Amarillo's future was assured: it was to be the commercial center of the Texas Panhandle. (1970) (1970).