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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 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.
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.
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 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.
Historical Markers:
Hemphill
County Jail
Hogtown, Former Site of
Springer's
Road Ranch, Site of Old
Canadian
River Trails
Marcy
Trail, Route of
Historic
Trails
Robert
R. Young
Canadian, Texas
Landmarks / Attractions ›
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The
Roundhouse in Canadian
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com
See Texas Railroads |
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Canadian Depot
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com
More Texas
Depots
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Canadian, Texas
Landmarks / Attractions
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Photographer's
Note:
"Canadian is such a nice town to drive around in. It is very
tourist friendly. I saw no junk. Everything was neat and well kept...
[Here are photos] 'in and around' the town of Canadian." - Barclay
Gibson |
Historical Marker:
Hemphill County
Jail
Built in 1890,
first permanent public building in both town of Canadian and Hemphill
County. Erected under administration of E. E. Polly, first county
judge. Ironically, deception plagued construction of this jail, as
building contracts were found to be fraudulent and citizens took legal
action all the way to the Texas Supreme Court (1889).
In mid-1920s, jail held outlaws from notorious oil boom town of Borger
(65 miles southwest).
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1970. |
The
Palace Theater: 210 Main Street
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
The recently
restored Palace Theater has a history going back 80 years.
Photo
courtesy Wes Reeves
More Texas Theatres |
"Former
Site of Hogtown" historical marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Site
of Old Springer's Road Ranch Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Canadian
River Trails Historical Marker
At Historical Wagon
Bridge roadside park, off US 60/83
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Route
of Marcy Trail Historical Marker
on US 60 about 8 miles S of Canadian
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Historic
Trails Historical Marker
on US 60/83 about 6.5 miles S of Canadian
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Robert
R. Young Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Canadian, Texas
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.
Canadian
Hotels > Book Here
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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